


Never Judge a Book by Its Bloody Cover

by t_dragon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Blood Drinking, Government Conspiracy, Investigations, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Minor Character Death, Paranormal Investigators, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 13:56:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13389234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t_dragon/pseuds/t_dragon
Summary: Prompt #81: Kyungsoo is a supernatural investigator. He used to work alone, but his office partnered him with a vampire for his next dangerous mission. He tried to fight it, but couldn’t convince his boss. He loathed those bloody heartless creatures. He can’t fathom the hypocrisy of his office fighting the evil, but turning around and asking one of monsters to aid them. He even had to supply his own blood in case the vampire stock was out! How can he even trust the creature who is betraying his own filthy kind? However with time Kyungsoo came to learn that not all monsters are ugly.





	Never Judge a Book by Its Bloody Cover

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Um, so, this is my contribution to this fic fest! It's been a ride, I can tell you that... This is actually the third plot I came up with, all in all I have five different plots? Uh, yeah, I had some troubles... And I know that some parts are probably rushed, and some might not fit together that well, but I realized about halfway through that I'm not good AT ALL at writing detective fiction/investigations, so... Very sorry about that, I hope it's good enough anyway! I really thought that this prompt seemed awesome and really wanted to write it, so I did my best!  
> I want to thank J for helping me get a base-plot (that in the end led to this mess, lol), and N and P for being there for me when I needed to rant and ramble, and to motivate me when stuff was tough! Wouldn't have made it this far without you all, seriously!

 Terrified screams rang out in the rather silent city night, coupled with growls and howls. People were running blindly, trying to get away, but the outdoor market was too crowded and the stalls too close together. In the end, the narrow walkways became herding death traps, instead of escape paths.

 It only lasted a few moments, before silence once more settled. Then loud police sirens pierced the unsettling calmness, and within minutes, the first responding officers were at the scene, balking at what they saw.

 Bodies laid strewn everywhere, blood painting the streets red. No discrimination had been made of the victims - old as young, men as women - no one had been spared.

 Do Kyungsoo arrived at the crime scene half an hour after the attack had happened. There had not been much information about the attack, except that it had been bloody and fatal.

Stepping out of his car, Kyungsoo quickly noticed that several news vans were standing around the area. No wonder he had gotten more from the radio than his own department - catastrophes had a tendency to lure this bizarre, morbid interest after all. Kyungsoo frowned at the mass of people standing huddled around the news vans..

 "Nothing has been confirmed yet, but just looking at what you can see from the crime scene, the theories all point to one thing," a reporter said as Kyungsoo made his way towards the police tape. "Vampires."

 Kyungsoo’s frown deepened at that. Of course they blamed it on vampires… Whenever they saw blood, they automatically thought of blood suckers. Now, Kyungsoo was not particularly fond of vampires himself, but he was an investigator - and investigators should not jump to the most easiest and convenient conclusion.

 "There has not been an attack of this magnitude since the 1999 Suburban Slaughter," another reporter said. "The larger part of a suburban community was slaughtered, leaving only a few survivors. Tonight, there seem to be no survivors."

 At that, Kyungsoo paused mid-step. Of course they would mention that particular event. It was rather famous, after all. The worst vampire attack in human history, a whole suburban area slaughtered by rampaging vampires. Months upon months of governmental investigations. A mass uprising leading to a witch hunt of vampires, who themselves claimed they were innocent in all of it.

 And also the event that had shaped Kyungsoo into the person he now was. He had been six back then, and he had lost everything in a single night. He himself would have been dead as well, if not for the stranger that saved him.

 But that was a long time ago now, and Kyungsoo was here on a mission. He had a massacre to investigate, after all.

 After quickly flashing his badge by the police tape, Kyungsoo carefully stepped onto the crime scene. By now, many of the bodies had been taken away, into the tents that had been erected to serve as mobile labs, and many places marked to show where the things had been, or point to possible clues.

 Entering the first tent, Kyungsoo came across a familiar face. A familiar face that was annoyingly high up.

 "Park," Kyungsoo said as he walked over to the temporary work table holding a body.

 "Kyungsoo!" Park Chanyeol exclaimed, straightening out into his full height as he looked up. "Heard you were coming! How are you?"

 "A bit grossed out," Kyungsoo said, nodding at the rather mangled body.

 Chanyeol looked down at said body, frowning a little.

 “Yeah, it’s… It’s not pretty,” he said, and Kyungsoo just raised a single eyebrow. “I haven’t gotten much yet, but what I’ve got is strange.”

 “Don’t keep me in suspense, then, doctor,” Kyungsoo said, and a light blush spread across Chanyeol’s cheeks and ears.

 Obviously trying to busy himself with something else, Chanyeol promptly took a small step to the side and used his gloved hands to turn the thigh of the poor victim to better show the brutal wound.

 “Here, take a look at this. At first glance, it looks like a bite wound, right?”

 “Is it something else than a bite wound, even at second glance?” Kyungsoo asked, tilting his head slightly. Because it really did look like a bite wound.

 “Uh, no, it is a bite wound…,” Chanyeol mumbled, seemingly a bit embarrassed. “But it doesn’t look like how a vampire normally would bite, so maybe it’s not a vampire bite wound?”

 Kyungsoo leaned down a little and squinted at the wound, before shrugging and standing back up.

 “Maybe the vampire just got a bit too into it, tearing the flesh out?”

 “Maybe,” the forensic mumbled, frowning in thought as his eyes danced across the horrific wound. “Don’t know until I get the bodies back to the lab, but most victims have one or more wounds like these. It’s just strange, is all.”

 “Well, if anyone can figure it out, it’s you, so I put my faith in you, Park,” Kyungsoo said, patting Chanyeol’s shoulder and turning. “Keep me updated on your progress!”

 “Of course!” Chanyeol called back as Kyungsoo exited the tent, and headed towards the actual crime scene to do his job.

 

 Three hours later, Kyungsoo was back at the Supernatural Crime Team office, having set up the board and currently sitting by his desk, going through what he had so far.

 "Do! My office."

 Kyungsoo looked up to see the chief stare at him, and after having received a nod, turned and walked back into his office.

 "Oh, somebody's in trouble?" an annoying voice teased as Kyungsoo got up from his desk.

 "Fuck off, Byun," Kyungsoo replied almost automatically, not even sparing the vampire a look.

 "Feisty!" Investigator Byun laughed, and it rang in Kyungsoo's ears as he disappeared into the chief's office.

 "You wanted to see me?" Kyungsoo said as he walked over to the desk and sat down in one of the chairs in front of it.

 "Ah, yes...," the chief said, rubbing at his eyes and giving a sigh before looking up at Kyungsoo. This was going to be bad... "I just got a phone call. From the higher ups."

 Kyungsoo winced at that; nobody wanted to deal with the involvement of the higher ups, it always made a mess, and this was surely about his new case. But, after all, a massacre was a pretty big deal...

 "They want to give you a partner in your investigation," the chief said, holding up his hand as Kyungsoo groaned. Kyungsoo did not have partners, he worked the best alone, maybe getting some advice from people every now and then, but not more than that. "Save it, it gets worse. They want to add a vampire to the investigation, to help with the political issues between the government and the Court."

 Kyungsoo sat up straight, barely able to believe his ears.

 "What? Are you fucking kidding me?"

 After the suburban massacre, Kyungsoo had been severely traumatized. Years upon years of therapy had been able to help him overcome his fear of vampires, but it had forced him into a sort of blazing hatred for them instead.

 Sure, he could tolerate them, he could walk down the street and ignore the pale, sharp-toothed beings, he could work alongside them (albeit feeling his fingers itch to reach for the various sorts of stakes always in his desk drawer), but he still despised them. Not so strange, after all, but some would claim that he was projecting onto innocent beings, and should try to make peace with his past.

 Kyungsoo mostly told them to fuck off.

 "This can't be happening," Kyungsoo mumbled as the chief slowly shook his head. "I can't fucking believe this... Sir, I'm investigating a crime that might have vampires involved, and you're giving me a vampire for partner? That's insane! You need to speak with-"

 "What do you think I can do, honestly?" the chief interrupted him, braiding his fingers together, not looking at Kyungsoo. "It's for political reasons, and then I can't do jackshit. At least I managed to make them change your assigned partner. I figured they would want Investigator Byun to actually survive..."

 "Oh, thank the moon...," Kyungsoo muttered, massaging his temples and trying to imagine having to work with that idiotic narcissist. It made him want to puke. "Then what monster am I stuck with?"

 "Kim Jongin," the chief said, leaning back in his chair and watching Kyungsoo intently. "I thought he would be the best choice for you. Maybe you should see this as a challenge, Do. Get with the twenty-first century, and realize that they might not be as bad as we thought."

 "I will keep my personal feelings as much out of it as possible," Kyungsoo said as he stood up and gave a small bow. "Excuse me, I have a massacre to investigate."

 The chief just sighed as he waved Kyungsoo off, knowing it was useless to try to argue, but also knowing that Kyungsoo would do what needed of him - even if he did not like it.

 As Kyungsoo walked out of the chief's office, his hands fisted as his jaw tensed, but he tried to keep himself together. Inspector Byun was about to say something when he saw Kyungsoo come out through the door, but as Kyungsoo looked over at him, he seemed to realize that it might be a bad idea to try Kyungsoo at the moment.

 Kyungsoo managed to hold himself together to the point of walking into Chanyeol's forensic lab. The man was in there going over some things, and as Kyungsoo walked inside, he looked up in confusion.

 Confusion that turned into surprise as Kyungsoo punched one of the fridges, making it shake, the sound of tinkling glass reaching them.

 "Uhm... Are you okay...?" Chanyeol carefully asked as Kyungsoo began to pace, face dark.

 "No, I'm not fucking okay!" Kyungsoo hissed, turning around to kick the fridge instead, since his hand was hurting now.

 "Okay, okay, let's stop abusing my fridge, and sit down and talk about it," Chanyeol said as he hurried over and steered Kyungsoo away from the poor appliance, instead herding him over towards the chairs standing by one of the desks. "Here we go, sit down, and tell me about it. What's wrong?"

 Kyungsoo dragged a hand through his hair and exhaled deeply through his nose, trying to get himself under control.

 "I've gotten a partner for this investigation," Kyungsoo finally bit out, making Chanyeol cock his head.

 After all, the agents under SCT normally worked on their own, but Kyungsoo was notorious for never working with a partner. He was a lone wolf, and they all knew it.

 "Uh... Okay? Didn't know you thought working with somebody was that horrible," Chanyeol slowly said, his smile a bit twitchy as if he was a bit worried that his joke was crossing a line.

Kyungsoo looked up at Chanyeol with pursed lips, before reaching out to punch his shoulder. He held back quite a bit, but it was still enough for Chanyeol to hiss and furiously rub at the area of impact.

 "It's not that, idiot, it's the fact that my new partner is a  _ vampire _ ," Kyungsoo said in a tired voice, rubbing his eyes.

 "Oh.  _ Oh _ . Right. I guess your unexplainable hatred of vampires would get in the way of that,” Chanyeol drawled, supporting his head with his hand and looking very unimpressed all of a sudden.

 “Don’t be an asshole,” Kyungsoo warned. “It’s not unexplainable, you just don’t know the reason for it.”

 “Then what is the reason?” a new voice said, making both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol turn.

 In the doorway stood a tall man, sharp facial features contrasting with soft, plump lips, a thick file held in one strangely tan but pale hand.

 “I mean, could be good to know if we’re supposed to cooperate,” the vampire said, lifting the hand holding the file. “I just got the news and a rundown of what we know so far. Nice to meet you, partner.”

 “Wow, you couldn’t give me at least an hour to live?” Kyungsoo muttered, looking up towards the ceiling.

 “Don’t be an asshole,” Chanyeol said, mirroring Kyungsoo’s previous words, before looking over at the vampire with a smile. “So, you’re the partner, Jongin? Well, then, good luck!”

 The vampire gave a small smile at that, nodding his head.

 “Thank you… Might need it,” he said, and Kyungsoo winced over how annoying that deep voice was… And he was stuck with this for as long as it would take to solve the crime? “Investigator Do, if I could borrow you for a minute?”

 Kyungsoo sat still in the chair, staring at the vampire for long seconds, before Chanyeol finally stepped in and basically pushed Kyungsoo off of the chair.

 “I have stuff to do, and you need to talk to your new  _ partner _ , I’ll let you guys know when I’ve found anything,” Chanyeol said, lazily waving his hand for Kyungsoo to leave. “Run along now, children, and play nice together!”

 Kyungsoo bared his teeth at his supposed friend, before stomping out of the lab and heading towards his desk. He knew the vampire was following him, but did not look at him until he was seated in his chair, spinning around to motion for the board next to him.

 “Here’s some of the stuff we have, and I’m going through other things, but it’s not much yet,” Kyungsoo said in a bored tone, as the vampire looked between the board and the desk, nodding. “I guess feel free to add to it, you know the procedures. And talk to me about stuff about the case, we’re gonna have to since we’re partners, but not more than that.”

 “That is fine,” the vampire said, giving Kyungsoo a small smile. “But the chief suggested that we take one of the conference rooms, so we don’t have to bother with desk arrangements and things.”

 Kyungsoo frowned at that, not sure what he thought about that idea, but ending up shrugging. Not much he could really do about it, because the chief was right, it would simplify things for them. Gathering his belongings and whatever else he would need, Kyungsoo got up and motioned for the vampire to show which room they were supposed to use.

 “I was going to say get a room, but isn’t that a bit too early?” came Inspector Byun’s voice, and Kyungsoo pursed his lips in annoyance, no hands free to show a glorious middle finger.

 “Hyung,” Jongin instead said, pinning the inspector with a mildly stern look. “Be nice.”

 “I am nice, Jonginnie, just teasing,” Inspector Byun said, flashing a grin that showed off his pointed canines. “But seriously, I know it’s been a while, but don’t do something I wouldn’t!”

 Kyungsoo was sure Jongin would flush if he could, seeing how embarrassed the younger seemed. But the man was a vampire, and therefore could not. Unnatural…

 “Doesn’t seem like there’s anything stopping us, then,” Kyungsoo drawled, using the tip of his booth to nudge Jongin’s leg and making him move again.

 Inspector Byun gave a dramatic gasp, slapping a hand over his cold heart.

 “I won’t let you defile my innocent Jonginnie, Do!” the inspector exclaimed, but the office was so used to his antics that nobody cared.

 “The only stake he’ll get from me is a wooden one, and if you don’t shut up soon, I’ll use it on you first,” Kyungsoo shot back, and somehow, that seemed to wake Jongin up as he suddenly took a hold of Kyungsoo’s arm and proceeded to drag him towards the room.

 Happy to finally get away from the annoying inspector, Kyungsoo tolerated the grip and just followed along. As soon as they were in the right conference room, the vampire let go as if he had been burned, dumped his own file, and then rushed out to fetch the bits and pieces stuck to the board Kyungsoo had organized just half an hour before. Rather pleased with not having to walk past Inspector Byun again, Kyungsoo simply sat down by the large table, close to the whiteboard, and got back to reading through notes.

 It did not take long before the vampire was back, silently organizing the new board, and then taking a seat across from Kyungsoo.

 The next two hours flew past in silence, only broken by the rustling of paper, as both investigators looked through the material they had. Every now and then, one of them would get up and pin another thing to the board, but other than that, both sat leaned over the different documents in front of them.

 Their break came in the form of a tall, bow legged forensic, who popped his head inside of the conference room with a large grin on his lips.

 “See, I knew you would be able to work together well!” Chanyeol exclaimed, making Kyungsoo jump in surprise. Jongin froze in place, before blinking up at Chanyeol with wide eyes. “Did I scare you guys? Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you… But! I’m bringing gifts in the form of news! Come with me?”

 Exhaling deeply, Kyungsoo leaned back in his chair, back aching slightly from sitting leaned forwards for a prolonged time. Pushing his arms back, he managed to get three cracks out of it, grimacing from the pleasurable pain of working the kinks out. Jongin had already gotten up and was heading towards Chanyeol, throwing a glance over his shoulder at Kyungsoo’s quiet groan. Kyungsoo would have to keep in mind that the vampire had good hearing…

 Soon, the three of them were gathered in Chanyeol’s lab, standing around one of the suspects in the case - one of the vampires. He had obviously seen better days, his skin pale and grey and almost dusty. There were small lacerations across his uncovered face and chest, blood a darker red than human blood coagulated in and around them.

 “So, I’ve been able to conclude that this poor fellow, as well as the poor lady over there,” Chanyeol said, nudging his chin in the direction of the other vampire lying on the next table over, “are the perpetrators in this case. And I don’t think they did it from their own free will. Both vampires have a strange concoction in their veins, and even though I haven’t been able to identify it yet, some compounds of it seems… Strange. Very much so.”

 “They were driven on a murder spree because of something in their blood?” Kyungsoo asked, tilting his head slightly. He was having a hard time believing it, but the investigator inside of him urged him not to discard anything at this point of the investigation.

 Chanyeol urgently nodded his head, bringing out the vampire’s arm and pointing to the crook of its arm.

 “See, here, there’s  _ injection marks _ . Someone  _ injected _ something into them, and then seemingly set them free!” Chanyeol said, sounding way too excited about that revelation. “Or they broke free, but anyhow, it seems like these poor beings were experimented on.”

 Next to Kyungsoo, Jongin stiffened. Probably not the nicest thing to hear about your fellow blood-suckers, and Kyungsoo could feel some empathy for it, but not more than that. He did not reach out to try to comfort the vampire. After all, Kyungsoo saw things like these on a regular basis, and he could stomach it, so the vampire should as well. Or start learning now.

 “I’m still running some tests and searching around for some things, but this is a great start,” Chanyeol said, giving his twitchy grin. “It might help us solve this case real quick!”

 “Let’s hope it does,” Kyungsoo mumbled, glancing over at the still alive (to some degree) vampire next to him, noticing his clenched jaw and hard eyes. “We’ve gone through everything we got now, so I suggest some rest. Keep in touch if you find anything else, Park.”

 Chanyeol gave a mock salute as Kyungsoo turned and walked out of the lab, not really caring if Jongin followed or not. It had been a long day, and an even longer night, and by now Kyungsoo wanted to get some sleep. There was no point in forcing himself to stay awake any longer, not with all of the progress they had already made, so he simply headed home.

 

 When Kyungsoo arrived at the office the next day, early in the morning, the vampire was already there. He was sitting in their newly appointed “office” going over something, and if it had not been for the new set of clothes, Kyungsoo would have suspected that he had not left the night before.

 “Did you even get any rest?” Kyungsoo said instead of a greeting, putting his bag down on one of the free chairs and pulling his coat off.

 Jongin merely glanced up at him, before focusing on the documents in front of him again, giving the smallest of nods.

 “Vampires don’t require much sleep,” came the silent reply, and Kyungsoo clicked his tongue.

 “Okay, then… As long as you don’t mess this investigation up.”

 Just like that, the vampire dropped the sheet of paper he had been holding, sitting up straight and staring at Kyungsoo. He was wearing glasses today, hair pushed back as if he had ran his hands through it several times, and Kyungsoo could not help but wonder  _ why _ a vampire would need glasses. Were they not all perfect and all that?

 “What are you trying to insinuate? How would I mess this investigation up?” Jongin asked in an exasperated voice. “As a SCT investigator, you should be very well-aware of the fact that vampires doesn’t require much sleep, and can even survive without it for  _ centuries _ . Blood is enough to keep us going for as long as necessary, you should know this!”

 A bit surprised by the sudden outburst, Kyungsoo held up his hands in surrender, a frown creeping onto his face.

 “Whoa, hold up, boy, why are you so bothered?”

 Sighing, the vampire removed his glasses, rubbing at his eyes.

 “I know you dislike me, or rather  _ the vampire in me _ , for some obscure reason,” Jongin mumbled, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms over his chest as his eyes were trained on the board that was looking a lot more cluttered today than it did last night. “I have no idea why, but I know it makes you biased in your opinion about me and my honor as an investigator. Humans steal and murder and rape, yet you're not biased in your investigations of them, right? Just because a few humans are assholes, doesn't mean all of you are. And just because vampires were involved in the massacre, it doesn’t mean that I’ll not do all in my power to properly and thoroughly investigate this case! Justice is all I want, and if that means that vampires will get an even worse reputation, then so be it. Maybe I can out-weight it a little by staying true to the oath I gave as a entered the SCT, and show that there might be some bad vampires, but a whole shitload of us are actually  _ nice _ .”

 It was the most Kyungsoo had ever heard the vampire speak, and he stood still, just gawking, unable to form any words. Sure, he had been called out on his dislike for vampires a couple of times now, but never like this. He almost felt a bit ashamed of himself, and he did not like that at all.

 Obviously taking Kyungsoo’s silence wrong, Jongin gave another sigh as he put his glasses back on, and got back to his reading.

 “Anyway, there’s been only slight advances from the forensic lab, nothing substantial, but at least it’s something,” the vampire said in a flat tone. “I’ve put it up on the board.”

 Suddenly, Kyungsoo was feeling like a very guilty asshole. But he did not really know how to bring the subject back up for him to apologize, and he sure as hell did not know  _ how _ to apologize.

 Worrying his lower lip in thought, Kyungsoo walked over to the board and looked it over, taking note of the new additions (Chanyeol had left a few notes, basically to say that he had identified a few more substances in the mystery compound), whilst in the back of his head he was still trying to figure things out.

 There was not much he could come up with, though, so in the end he just went with whatever.

 “I meant that I need you fully rested and with your head free from distractions, not that you would purposefully endanger the investigation because of your race,” Kyungsoo said, still facing the board. He probably should have turned around to look at the vampire as he said it, but there was something stopping him. Embarrassment, maybe? “I might not like you, and I might feel that a vampire on a vampire case is not the best thing, but you’re right. Hopefully you feel some obligation to justice and that’s enough for you to keep things straight. So far, it seems like it, so…”

 Silence once more reigned the room, and Kyungsoo blatantly refused to turn around by now.

 Then a light chuckle was heard, and Kyungsoo glanced over his shoulder to see the vampire sit with his face turned away, a hand covering his mouth. The blush actually began to appear on Kyungsoo’s cheeks now, and he turned forwards yet again with pursed lips.

 “Don’t burst a vein, I can feel the warmth from all the way over here,” the vampire teased, and Kyungsoo gave him a quick glare. “Thank you, though. For at least trying to set your personal emotions aside. Or at least lying to comfort me.”

 “I don’t lie,” Kyungsoo grumbled as he finally turned and walked over to the table again, sitting down in one of the chairs and motioning for Jongin to give him some of the papers. “Hand it over, can’t trust you to do it properly…”

 “You’re such a grumpy old man,” Jongin mused, but nevertheless handed half of the stack over. Most were reports and witness statements, and Kyungsoo got to work, heart feeling just slightly lighter.

 Which was stupid, why did he need to make the vampire happy?

 

 Something was bothering Kyungsoo.

 It had been at the back of his mind ever since he first got to know about the case, being sent out to the crime scene, but he had thought it was only because they resembled each other.

 With every little piece that they went through, Kyungsoo realized that not only did it resemble each other, but it was  _ too _ alike.

 Excusing himself, Kyungsoo made his way over to the archives. He needed to dig deeper, and even though he maybe should wait a little before looking into other cases that might be related, he decided that it would not harm to start now.

 The man sitting by counter just inside of the large room making up the archive gave a large grin as Kyungsoo stepped inside, waving him over.

 “Kyungsoo! Long time no see,” he said, and Kyungsoo could not help but grin back.

 “It really has been, Hyunsik, but I’ve been busy,” Kyungsoo answered as he was pulled into a short hug.

 “So I’ve heard. They’re saying you’re on the massacre case, with a vampire?” Hyunsik asked as he pulled back, one eyebrow raised.

 Kyungsoo nodded, sighing a little from the predicament he was currently in. “Yeah, I am… Chief Choi was apparently bullied by the politicians to give in, because of some human vampire tensions or shit… So I’m stuck with a vampire.”

 “Sounds great,” Hyunsik drawled, crossing his arms as he sat down on the edge of his desk, a playful grin on his lips. “So, what can I do for you?”

 “I need you to stop acting like an ass and get me the case file for the ‘99 Suburban Slaughter,” Kyungsoo said, nudging Hyunsik’s shin with his boot.

 Immediately, Hyunsik’s face fell.

 “The ‘99… Kyungsoo, are you sure about this?”

 Kyungsoo frowned at his friend’s question, nodding his head.

 “Of course I’m sure. My case seems very similar to that case, of course I want to see the case file to compare. Maybe there’s clues in it that will help me solve my case, as well as a cold case from nine years back. Why are you even asking me that, this is a logical path to take?”

 “But, you,” Hyunsik struggled, seemingly having a hard time with what to say. “Your family was killed in that massacre, don’t you think it’s a bit stupid of you to look into the case? Personal feelings and all that?”

 Kyungsoo crossed his arms over his chest as well, raising both of his eyebrows.

 “Really? I’ve gone over that case before, I know what happened, and I’m very well-aware that my family was killed during it, but it’s fine, I’m fine,” Kyungsoo said, slowly articulating everything as if that would help convince Hyunsik. “I’ve spent years in therapy! And as the investigator, or at least one of them, of this new massacre, it’s my duty to look at any and all leads that might be connected to my case, so evaluate if it can help me. So please, Hyunsik, get me the damn file.”

 With his eyes trained on something off to the side, Hyunsik chewed on his lower lip as he seemed to be battling himself. With a small sigh, he closed his eyes, and Kyungsoo knew he had won.

 “Okay, fine. I’ll get it for you. Just… Be careful, okay? Maybe you’ll find something you’ll wish you never did. I don’t want to see you become like the six year old you…”

 “Can’t promise anything, but after all, I have a  _ partner _ to help me,” Kyungsoo said, going for humor to ease the tense atmosphere.

 And even though Hyunsik gave a small chuckle as he walked behind his desk and sat down, typing something into his computer, it was obvious that it was forced.

 “Come along then, let’s go,” Hyunsik said as he found what he was searching for and got up again, tilting his head towards the rows upon rows of racks, filled with boxes containing evidence and files. Each and every one of them was part of a case, either a solved one, or a cold one.

 “For real, you’re letting me step into your sanctuary?” Kyungsoo joked in a mocked breathless voice, and this time Hyunsik’s laugh was real. “But really, I thought we weren’t allowed in here?”

 Hyunsik shrugged as he threw an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulders, pulling him along.

 “Well, I heard that rules are meant to be broken, and I’m such a bad boy that I’ll show you all of the rows… Does that make me attractive?” Hyunsik asked, winking at Kyungsoo who threw his head back to laugh. It echoed around the vast space, and both Kyungsoo and Hyunsik slapped a hand over Kyungsoo’s mouth to quiet him. “You’re gonna get me into so much trouble, I’m telling you…”

 “That’s only fair, considering how much trouble you got  _ me _ into in high school,” Kyungsoo said, poking Hyunsik in the side and making him giggle as he curled away from Kyungsoo.

 “Hey, hey, let’s not keep grudges! The past is the past, and it’ll stay there, right?” Hyunsik exclaimed, and it tilted Kyungsoo’s mind a little.

 “Yeah… I guess so,” Kyungsoo softly said, smiling but not looking Hyunsik in the eye anymore.

 The past is the past, and no matter what you do, you will never be able to bring it back.

 

 When Kyungsoo had gotten the file, he had said goodbye to Hyunsik and exited the archive. In the elevator on the way up to his floor, he started to look through the file, consciously choosing not to look too long at the photographs.

 As the elevator announced his arrival at the right floor, Kyungsoo looked up from his file and locked eyes with his new partner. The vampire was standing in front of the elevator, and looked surprised to see Kyungsoo.

 “Ah, there you are,” Jongin said, glancing down at the file in Kyungsoo’s hands and frowning, before looking up at Kyungsoo again. “I’m going to quickly run out on an errand, but I’ll be back soon.”

 Kyungsoo nodded as he vacated the elevator, leaving it for the vampire to use to go down. If he had been a nastier man, he might have left a present in it, but fortunately for Jongin, he was not.

 

 When Jongin returned, Kyungsoo was reading the file, going through it, but he quickly stuffed it into his bag when he noticed the vampire opening the door to the conference room. Jongin raised a brow, but said nothing about it, just sitting down and getting back to his own stuff.

 

~*~

 

 Two days went past in the same fashion, Kyungsoo and Jongin trapped in the conference room, going over whatever they had, whatever others dropped onto the table, trying to connect things and clues. Every day, Kyungsoo would spend at least an hour in Chanyeol’s lab, annoying the forensic and pestering him about giving him something new. And every time, Chanyeol would tell him to shut it, let him work in peace, and go back to his new partner, he cannot be that bad.

 Then on the third day, fresh routines were disrupted.

 “I need to talk to you,” Jongin said, voice surprisingly low. “Away from here.”

 “I’m not going anywhere alone with you,” Kyungsoo mumbled almost out of habit, barely registering his own words.

 “Stop acting like a fucking asshole and come with me,” Jongin hissed, and Kyungsoo was snapped out of his thoughts by the harsh words.

 Jongin almost never lost his patience with Kyungsoo like this.

 “Take your coat, we’re getting lunch,” Jongin said before he stomped over to his chair and took his own coat. Frowning, Kyungsoo still did what Jongin said, and stood up and reached for his coat.

 Inspector Byun looked up and watched them walk out with a raised brow, but said nothing. How strange, Kyungsoo found himself thinking, but did not spend any more energy on it as he followed Jongin out.

 “Where are we going?” Kyungsoo found himself asking as they were walking down the street.

 Jongin was walking with his hands in his pockets, a stern look on his face, and it was the most serious Kyungsoo had seen the vampire look since he had first met him.

 “Lunch, I said,” Jongin mumbled, and Kyungsoo understood he would not get more out of him. At least not for now, so it would be better to just wait.

 After a while, they walked into a grocery store, with Jongin telling Kyungsoo to pick out what he wanted to eat. Sending the vampire a strange look, he did as told, and Jongin payed for both of their food, before they set off again.

 They ended up in a park, where Jongin led Kyungsoo over to a secluded bench, before motioning for him to sit down.

 “The risks of somebody listening in on our discussion is smaller here,” Jongin explained as Kyungsoo stood still, staring at him. “We’re just workplace friends taking a quick lunch, what’s so suspicious about that?”

 Chewing on his lower lip, Kyungsoo finally sat down, accepting his choice of food and drink from Jongin.

 “Why are you looking at the Suburban Slaughter?” Jongin asked as Kyungsoo had just bit into his sandwich. “Is it anything else than the fact that both were massacres supposedly by vampires?”

 Taking his time to chew, Kyungsoo glanced over at Jongin, who was rolling his bottle of synthetic blood in his hands, eyes trained on it.

 “First and foremost, that’s the reason,” Kyungsoo slowly answered, blinking up at the sky to see the clouds chase each other across the blue. “There seems to be other things that are very similar between the two… But there seems to be things missing, as well.  _ That’s _ why you pulled me out here?”

 Jongin leaned back and supported his elbow on the backrest, giving a small, crooked smile that did not reach his eyes.

 “I had to have a reason to invite you for an impromptu outdoor lunch?”

 Kyungsoo also leaned back, not saying anything, just staring at Jongin. They stayed like that for a while, neither moving other than blinking, a thousand indecipherable things glinting past in their eyes.

 “In the years leading up to the Suburban Slaughter, there was a rapid increase in kidnappings,” Jongin mumbled, still not breaking eye-contact. “The thing all victims had in common - vampirism. It got to the point it almost created a widespread panic in my community, but of course not much of this was reported about in the human media… Then, one night, the Suburban Slaughter happened. A whole suburban area attacked, only a few victims surviving. The attackers were quickly leaked to be vampires, which led to an actual widespread panic throughout the human community. In several places, witch hunts were held, until the government finally stepped in and stopped it. After that, the SCT was created, to investigate the Suburban Slaughter, and following supernatural crimes. As well as the vampire kidnappings that had happened leading up to the slaughter.”

 Kyungsoo knew all of this, this was common knowledge, and even though the vampire kidnappings were talked a bit more hushed about, he was after all an SCT investigator… Why was Jongin telling him this?

 “The thing is… Neither the Suburban Slaughter nor the kidnappings investigation ever turned up much. None of the kidnapping victims were ever found, but there were rumors about the suburban vampires being kidnapping victims. It was not long before the investigations were shelved, citing lack of evidence as reason, and after all, the suburban vampires had died anyway, right? The few vampires who managed to get a job at the SCT from the beginning told stories of evidence going missing, or being mishandled, which led the Court to decide to take things into their own hands. Every single vampire agent of the SCT has sworn to look into whatever they can relating to the Suburban Slaughter and the vampire kidnappings. Something is not right, and we intend to find out what is wrong.”

 Kyungsoo was speechless. Was this real? Were they all traitors? After he had started to finally accept that they might not be as bad as he thought, they turned out to be worse?

 Jongin leaned in closer, and though Kyungsoo’s entire being felt like backing up, he was still shocked frozen.

 “For almost twenty years, a secret has been kept hidden by the human government, but there has always been little bits and pieces that hasn’t added up, that has given some away, that has raised doubts, and we’ve carefully gathered it and investigated it. You said it yourself, something seems to be missing, and something is missing… And I think the missing part is involved in this new massacre.”

 “Conspiracy theories,” Kyungsoo breathed out, but his mind was spinning so quickly he began to feel dizzy and nauseous.

 Jongin watched his face for a few seconds, silently, before a small, hard smile curved his lips.

 “You don’t believe that,” Jongin whispered, even as Kyungsoo nodded. “You’re thinking what I’m telling you might be true. Why do you think I’m telling you all this?”

 Kyungsoo swallowed hard at that, eyes focused on a dog playing some distance away. He knew exactly why Jongin was telling him this, and especially now, but he did not want to acknowledge it.

 Unfortunately, sometimes you needed to do the things you did not want.

 “Because I might actually believe you,” Kyungsoo answered, shoulders slumping in defeat.

 Jongin’s eyes were sparkling now, in excitement. He seemed to be rejuvenated, and Kyungsoo realized the vampire had worried about telling him. Not that weird, after all…

 “This… This changes everything,” Kyungsoo said in a low voice, eyes darting all around as he tried to organize his thoughts.

 “Eat up and absorb this new information, and then we can talk about it,” Jongin said, finally unscrewing the lid of his bottle and bringing it to his lips, the black plastic concealing the content.

 Kyungsoo was not sure he  _ could _ eat after having all of that dumped on him, but he did not want to appear impolite either, and knew it was probably for the best. Slowly, mechanically, he began to chew on his sandwich, until there was nothing left.

 “So… For twenty years, we’ve had double agents in the SCT? And nobody has noticed?” Kyungsoo slowly said, blinking up at the sky. “All my faith in my own division just dropped do near zero.”

 “If it’s any consolation, I think they’ve suspected us, and kept us as far away from things as they possibly could without getting into trouble. I was pretty surprised when I found out  _ I _ would be the other investigator on this case…,” Jongin said, also leaning his head back and looking up at the sky. “After all, there’s not much intel we’ve been able to gather. To think that you managed to get a hold of a Suburban Slaughter case file just like that… Maybe we should’ve introduced humans into the conspiracy a long time ago, that might have helped.”

 Kyungsoo chuckled and shook his head. “I’m friends with one of the agents in the archive. He wasn’t supposed to help me, but… Well, childhood friends before your own agency, I guess.”

 “Really? You think you can get him to help us take a look around on some other things?” Jongin asked, looking over at Kyungsoo.

 “Nope, not even for me,” Kyungsoo answered with conviction. He knew the Suburban Slaughter case file had been a one-time thing, and only because of his own ties to it. “Unfortunately. Don’t think he has access to anything - if they even store it at the archive. What if they destroyed all the evidence? How do we prove it then?”

 Jongin’s eyes were sparkling once more, and Kyungsoo really disliked it.

 “Welcome aboard the Government Conspiracy Exposing Team, Inspector Do Kyungsoo. Nice to have you. And we do what we can do, whatever that might be. We look into what we can in our case, and try to find links. Maybe the likenesses between the two cases is enough to solve both?”

 

~*~

 

 “We should go talk to the investigator on the Suburban Slaughter case,” Kyungsoo said, stretching his arms above his head. Jongin looked up at him with a small wrinkle between his eyebrows, a pen caught between his teeth.

 “We’re supposed to try to  _ not _ raise their suspicion, Kyungsoo,” Jongin said, and Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow.

 “Because asking a few innocent questions about a case that even the public media has compared to our case it going to raise suspicions? If anything,  _ not _ asking questions would raise their suspicions even more. Like what are we so afraid of that we won’t even at least shallowly investigate that angle?”

 Jongin’s frown deepened, before he sighed and threw his pen down on the table, nodding.

 “I see your point. Fine. Do we know where this dude is?”

 Kyungsoo looked through some documents, before holding one of them up.

 “Yeah, he was promoted after the case went cold,” Kyungsoo said, giving a whistle. “Didn’t know a failed case could lead to the director’s chair… A deputy director at NIS’s Domestic Affairs. Hey, how about just not investigating this case? I think I heard something about a few higher-ups retiring soon?”

 Jongin gave Kyungsoo a deadpan look, before shaking his head.

 “Not even the slightest funny. Do you know how corrupted the inner NIS is?” the vampire asked, leaning forwards with his arms crossed, and Kyungsoo promptly held a hand up.

 “Nope, ain’t going there, not going to have a political discussion with you right now, vampy,” Kyungsoo said, Jongin spluttering indignantly over the nickname. “Get your coat, we’re going now.”

 Jongin grumbled a little under his breath, but did as told, and soon, they were standing in the elevator. Just before the doors slid closed, Kyungsoo looked up and locked eyes with Inspector Byun; the vampire gave him a small smirk, Kyungsoo answering it with a small glare, and then their gazes were cut off.

 But as soon as the doors were closed, the atmosphere in the elevator grew a tiny bit heavier. Not too bad, but enough to be noticeable, and Kyungsoo felt a bit uncomfortable.

 Maybe there was something behind the whole elevator trope, maybe something about the small, enclosed space lent itself to create certain kinds of atmospheres, maybe it was a trope born out of reality. After all, being stuck with a handso-  _ scary _ vampire in a place without any escape, that could easily be brought to a stop and have Kyungsoo stuck, was terrifying!

 Fortunately, it did not take long for them to reach the parking garage, and Kyungsoo took a deep breath of the stale, nasty air, as he marched over to where he had parked his car, ignoring the breath the vampire let out behind him.

 “Do you have a car, or are you riding with me?” Kyungsoo asked as he reached his car, pulling out his keys and unlocking it. In no time at all, Jongin was standing next to the passenger seat, pulling the door open.

 “Riding with you,” he simply said, before ducking inside, and Kyungsoo did the same.

 The drive over to the NIS building was not long, since SCT was technically a sub-branch to the NIS and kept close, but not too close. What the drive was, though, was awkward. No radio  music to distract them from the silence, since Kyungsoo normally plugged his phone in and listened to music from it instead, leaving the radio turned off.

 As they saw the sign for the NIS building, Kyungsoo cleared his throat and voluntarily, if a bit hesitant, broke the silence.

 “We have to be careful about what we ask,” he said, keeping his eyes firmly on the road. “We’re just comparing our case to his case, right?”

 Out of the corner of his eye, Kyungsoo could see Jongin nod, also looking straight ahead.

 “There are some similarities, and we thought it was best to get some information from the person in charge of the Suburban Slaughter case. Just to make sure if there is something that we maybe should look more into, that they didn’t catch during their investigation, but we might be able to get out.”

 “Exactly, great, nothing too much, just a little… Not enough to raise suspicions.”

 They were checked by the seemingly sleep-deprived guard by the gate, before driving inside of the area and parking. Sharing a last look, they got out of Kyungsoo’s car, and headed towards the large glass entrance.

 Inside, they went up to the desk, showing their badges and asking to see Deputy Director Lee. The secretary asked them to wait, before calling and speaking with said man’s secretary. After a few minutes, Kyungsoo and Jongin were asked to step forwards again.

 “You’re lucky, he’s yet to go home,” the secretary told them, smiling pleasantly. “He’s expecting you, take the stairs to the right three flights up, and then it’s down the right corridor, almost at the end.”

 They thanked the secretary, and went on their way, silence between them the entire trip. Finding the right name printed next to the right door, they opened it and stepped into a small waiting room, containing the secretary’s desk and a few chairs, as well as a tall floor plant. The secretary looked up from her computer, running her eyes up and down the both of them, before giving a tight-lipped smile.

 “They said you would come, please head right on inside, he’s waiting for you,” the secretary said, before nodding towards the only other door and going back to whatever she was already preoccupied with. Kyungsoo and Jongin shared a confused look, surprised by the slightly strange greeting, but headed on inside the office of the deputy director anyway.

 It was not the biggest office, but bigger than Chief Choi’s, at least. There was a large window on one of the walls, the desk standing right in front of it, framing the man sitting behind it in orange and purple hues.

 “Ah, I was told I had company!” the man exclaimed, standing up from his chair and giving a small bow with an easy grin on his face. “I heard it was about a case?”

 “Deputy Director Lee, I’m Inspector Do Kyungsoo, and this is Inspector Kim Jongin,” Kyungsoo said as they gave bows, before sitting down as the deputy director motioned for them to do so. “Yes, we’re here to ask a few questions about the Suburban Slaughter back in ´99. We’re on a case that shares a few similarities with it…”

 “You boys are on the Market Massacre case, then?” the deputy director asked, looking between them, then giving a low whistle. “Well, you got your work cut out for you… It’s not going to be easy to crack.”

 “You never succeeded in cracking the Suburban Slaughter, right?” Jongin spoke up, hands clasped in his lap. “Couldn’t find out the motive, or what was behind it, only that it was a few crazed vampires?”

 Deputy Director Lee turned to look at Jongin, or rather observe the vampire, before he opened his mouth again.

 “I know you’re a vampire, and from a pretty well-regarded clan - your last name gives it away. So I understand that this is a bit hard to hear, but there was no motive or anything else behind the Suburban Slaughter, apart from, like you said, crazed vampires. Sometimes you guys just get this kind of blood craze, and then you go on rampages. It happened in ´99, and it happened now again. Of course you can’t write that in a report, then you’d get the entire vampire community after your ass, but you, as an inspector before a vampire, should know this. I’m sure you’ve heard about other smaller incidents like these ones, that have been covered up.”

 Jongin gave a polite, but very cold, smile, shaking his head.

 “I haven’t. I’ve heard the stories humans use to scare their kids into fearing vampires, telling of events like these, but never have I ever heard about any covered-up stories. And I’m an inspector of the SCT, I should know those things, right?”

 Deputy Director Lee’s face changed, a frown settling itself over his features, and Kyungsoo knew this might go south real fast.

 “We’ve found some minor clues that point towards this maybe being something not caused by simply enraged vampires,” Kyungsoo quickly interjected, trying to ease the strained atmosphere. “After all, the two culprits died on their own after killing almost all victims in the market, and that’s a very unusual thing.”

 “Overfeeding, bad blood, there’s a thousand reasons,” the deputy director said as he turned to look back at Kyungsoo, shrugging and seemingly relaxing a little. “Let me tell you what - the easiest thing is to just accept the obvious thing here, and let it go. Sooner or later, you’ll realize that it doesn’t add up, all of those other theories, and that it simply was nature’s fault. No offense, but the civility vampires claim to have only stretch for that long, and it’s not even  _ that _ long.”

 Both Kyungsoo and Jongin stared at the deputy director in shock, not being able to believe what he was saying. And Kyungsoo found himself almost more surprised over his own reaction - because just a little while ago, he had been more or less sharing Deputy Director Lee’s sentiment.

 But after all, Jongin had showed that maybe vampires were not that bad… Slightly less inherently evil than Kyungsoo had assumed.

 “I understand that we’re on completely different pages regarding these cases, and we won’t be able to gain anything useful from you,” Kyungsoo said as he stood up, dusting imaginary dirt from his pants. “That was very racist said of you, Deputy Director. We happen to live in the 21st century, so full offence is taken. Goodbye.”

 And with that, Kyungsoo turned and walked away, sensing Jongin joining him quickly as he neared the door, neither noticing how Deputy Detective Lee pressed a button on his desk.

 “Thank you,” Jongin mumbled as Kyungsoo reached out and opened the door, walking out and not looking back. “That… Must have taken a lot.”

 “Nah, I just can’t stand assholes,” Kyungsoo muttered back, pursing his lips as he heard Jongin’s quiet snort. “Yeah, I know I can be one, but I’m usually not that kind of ignorant asshole. ...Right?”

 “You’re okay enough,” Jongin said, glancing over at the secretary that seemed into her own work, but he kept quiet until they were outside of the waiting room. “Do you think he’s in on the whole thing? Deputy Director Lee? He seemed… Like he was telling what he really believed, that vampires are monsters inclined to do these things.”

 Kyungsoo thought about that, tilting his head a little and worrying his lower lip. “I think they told him that these ‘blood craze’ things happens sometimes, and to not look deeper. He’s heard the stories growing up, and with the promise of a promotion… Can’t be hard to just let it go after that.”

 “Would you have?” Jongin asked, turning to scan Kyungsoo’s face.

 Kyungsoo raised a single eyebrow at that, snorting lightly.

 “I’m here, aren’t I? I’ve looked deeper into it, haven’t I? I like my job, and a desk job is not enough to get me to let go, especially not if I feel like I’m close to the truth. Have a little faith, jeez…”

 Expecting at least a chuckle or something, Kyungsoo glanced up at Jongin when he did not get it, and noticed that the vampire was staring at something further down the hallway, hand halfway raised to stop Kyungsoo. Following his gaze, Kyungsoo realized that they were not alone in the hallway anymore - a man dressed in a suit, holding a gun aimed at them.

 “What the…,” Kyungsoo mumbled, frowning. Why was he pointing a gun at them? And why was the man’s finger lying across the trigger, as if expecting to shoot?

 All of a sudden, the finger squeezed the trigger, and Kyungsoo knew this was it. He would barely even have the time to blink, let alone duck, before he was hit. Everything slowed down, until Kyungsoo was watching the end of him unfold in ultrarapid. His breathing sounded so loud, along with the pulsing of his blood in his ears, Kyungsoo could not hear anything else.

 Then, an arm appeared in front of him, blocking his vision. A dark cloud of smoke rolled off of it, and Kyungsoo knew what it was.

 Time sped up yet again, the disgusting sound of a bullet hitting flesh making Kyungsoo flinch, but he was fine. He was okay, he was uninjured, the arm still stretched out in front of him, darkness still oozing from from it.

 Inhaling shakily, Kyungsoo glanced to the side, seeing Jongin standing there.

 But it did not  _ look _ like Jongin.

 The black smoke was framing the vampire, making him look even more dangerous than the furious grimace already did. Elongated canines were exposed as he growled, dark veins extending from his completely black eyes, his skin even paler than normal.

 This was Jongin in his vampire form, and he looked truly terrifying.

 Pushing that aside, forcing himself to focus, Kyungsoo quickly unsheathed his gun and raised it, aiming beneath Jongin’s arm and squeezing the trigger. The shot hit the unknown man in the shoulder, and with a scream, he fell to the floor, clutching his bleeding wound.

 Adrenaline flowing through his vein, Kyungsoo slowly lowered the gun, before looking over at Jongin again.

 “Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice, hating how shaky it sounded.

 Jaw clenched, Jongin let his arm drop to his side as the darkness around him began to disappear, the veins around his eyes lightening up as his skin turned a bit more tan yet again.

 “I’m fine,” he said, and it sounded almost like a hiss.

 Putting his gun away, Kyungsoo took a hold of Jongin’s arm, ignoring the hissed protest. Holding it up, he could see the wound left by the bullet, but it was only bleeding lightly. What worried Kyungsoo more was that the bullet was still lodged in Jongin’s flesh.

 “Shit, we need to get this out…,” Kyungsoo mumbled as he bit on his lower lip, racking his brain for a good but quick way to do so. “Let’s get you to the hospital…”

 With an annoyed little sound, Jongin snatched his arm out of Kyungsoo’s hold, before digging his own fingers into the flesh. Grunting in pain and impatience, he then dug the bullet out and dropped it to the floor, whilst Kyungsoo tried to breathe normally over the disgusting display.

 “Nothing more than a flesh wound, I don’t need to go to the hospital,” Jongin muttered, wiping the blood on his fingers off on his pants. “We need to get out of here, though, those gunshots probably alerted the others, and they’ll soon be swarming here…”

 “The others?” Kyungsoo echoed faintly, still working on breathing in and out.

 Jongin glanced over at Kyungsoo with a frown, raising a brow.

 “Yeah, the others. We’re being targeted, Kyungsoo, what the hell do you think is going on?”

 Jongin had barely even finished the sentence before he yanked Kyungsoo out of the way of another bullet, from a shot Kyungsoo had not even heard. There was sudden shouting, and looking up, Kyungsoo could see several people sprinting towards them, weapons raised. Raising his own gun, Kyungsoo took some shots, not nearly enough of them actually hitting their mark.

 Then he was pulled into another room by Jongin, letting the vampire manhandle him into safety as he himself tried to take a couple of more shots before all of his bullets were out. At least it made the others hide, giving the two of them the time to regroup and get their bearings.

 “What floor are we on?” Jongin asked in a hushed tone, as Kyungsoo reloaded his gun.

 “Fourth,” Kyungsoo answered, going over his inventory. He had a few more clips, but it was not a lot. “The only exit I know about are behind them.”

 “We can try the windows, I’d survive the jump, but I’d need to carry you and that would probably render me incapacitated for a while,” Jongin said as he pulled his own gun out, wincing a bit as he checked his clip. “Or we can try to go through them, using me as the shield. They’re not using vamp bullets, so I’d be fine. What were they, like five or something?”

 “Seven, but I injured at least three of them,” Kyungsoo said, glancing over at the windows in the room they were in. Yet another conference room. “I’d go with plan B.”

 Even with the situation at hand, Jongin still gave a smirk, raising a single brow.

 “You just want to see me get shot to pieces, don’t you?”

 Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and chose not to answer, instead readying himself. Quickly understanding he would not get more of a reaction, Jongin stepped past Kyungsoo, shaking his arm lightly, before holding his gun up and more or less throwing himself out into the corridor they had just escaped.

 Bullets went flying around him as he went across the floor, firing off some of his own as well. It went fast, almost too fast, but Kyungsoo managed to catch at least one bullet finding its target on Jongin’s body.

 As Jongin continued to fire, Kyungsoo leaned out through the door and quickly took note of their opponents, and started to fire as well. Surprised by the double fires, the task force a few meters away scrambled for better cover, momentarily easing up on the bullets. Taking the opportunity, Jongin motioned for Kyungsoo to get behind them, and they began to move towards.

 Bullets kept raining down, but through some sheer luck, only a few actually hit Jongin, and none hit Kyungsoo. But the task force was soon brought down, hindered by non-lethal wounds, and Kyungsoo and Jongin could rush for the exit.

 Running down stairs, they hid in nooks and crannies whenever Jongin picked up on the sound of approaching forces, and then they were finally outside, racing towards the car. Throwing themselves inside, Kyungsoo wasted no time in getting it started and flooring the gas pedal, tires screeching as they left in a cloud of smoke, hoping, praying, that they would get far enough away to be able to hide.

 Adrenaline made his grip on the steering wheel painful, but Kyungsoo did not easen up on it, recklessly flying through the midnight streets, going around corners and taking as many turns as he could without ending up at their starting point.

 At the same time, the adrenaline seemed to be draining out of Jongin, as the vampire was sinking down in his seat, breathing shallow and heavy.

 “Hey, Jongin, hey! Stay awake!” Kyungsoo snapped as Jongin’s eyelids began to slide down, worry making him harsh. “Jongin, don’t you dare fall asleep on me, I don’t know where to go!”

 Groaning, Jongin forced his eyes open, sitting up a bit straighter and looking around. He seemed to be in a daze, and Kyungsoo really did not need that right now.

 “Take a left… Abandon the car a few blocks down…,” Jongin mumbled, voice airy. “There… There’s a safe house nearby…”

 Doing as told, Kyungsoo took the left and drove a few more blocks, before turning into a parking lot. Almost tumbling from the car, he rushed around to the other side, and used all the force he could muster to pull Jongin out as well. Even in the darkness, Kyungsoo could see that it was bad; Jongin had taken quite a few hits.

 “Such a stupid fucking plan, can’t believe I let you go through with it,” Kyungsoo muttered to himself as he slung Jongin’s arm over his shoulder, and began to drag him along.

 “You said plan B, I went for plan B…,” Jongin chuckled, using his head to motion for the direction. “Down there, keep walking. Then a left by the large road cutting through…”

 Kyungsoo followed the whispered directions, tugging Jongin along as fast as he could. They were out in the open, and even though Kyungsoo had tried to make the others lose the trail, he still felt too vulnerable.

 They needed to get inside, and quickly.

 

 With much difficulty, they managed to get into the house, Kyungsoo stumbling whilst trying to support Jongin. Thankfully, a sofa stood not too far into the first room, and Kyungsoo basically dumped Jongin down onto it.

 “Jongin, talk to me,” Kyungsoo said in a low voice as he tried to identify which injury was the worst. “Don’t pass out, and tell me what you need.”

 “Blood,” Jongin managed to rasp out, and Kyungsoo groaned.

 Of course. He was a fucking vampire, of course he needed fucking blood!

 Pushing off of the floor, Kyungsoo rushed into the kitchen to see if there was any in the fridge or freezer, but no such luck. Apparently, it had been a while since this hideout had been used, and it had not been stocked up in a while.

 Slamming his fist against the white, useless appliance, Kyungsoo pressed his forehead against the cool surface. Eyes squeezed shut, he took a couple of deep breaths, trying to think of what to do.

 But, really, there was only one thing he could do. No matter how much he hated that option, it was something he actually could do.

 Taking a deep breath through his nose, Kyungsoo pushed himself off of the fridge, ignoring the red fingerprints on it, before he headed back to the living room. Jongin was still lying in the sofa - where could he had gone in his condition, anyway? - looking closer to dead than alive. Which was actually quite funny, considering Jongin was one of the undead.

 But Kyungsoo had no time for worrying about that now; instead he walked straight up to Jongin and got down on his knees next to him.

 “There’s no blood anywhere, but I’ll let you take some of mine,” Kyungsoo said, and Jongin’s eyelids fluttered open in shock.

 “Wha- No! I won’t do that!” Jongin exclaimed, sounding stronger than he looked. But from the way his chest was heaving, and how pale his complexion was, Kyungsoo knew he was getting into the danger zone.

 “You saved my life several times tonight, let me save yours!” Kyungsoo muttered, folding his sleeve up and holding his wrist out in front of Jongin’s face.

 Jongin’s eyelids slipped closed again as he frowned, seemingly undergoing an inner debate. Knowing they did not have much time, Kyungsoo held his wrist a bit closer to the vampire, hoping the smell of his blood might entice him to bite.

 It seemed to work, as Jongin’s hand wrapped around Kyungsoo’s hand, holding his arm still as Jongin pressed his nose against Kyungsoo’s skin and inhaled, jaw clenching.

 “Fuck, you smell so  _ good _ ,” Jongin grounded out, his voice a bit rough, and it made Kyungsoo’s belly drop.

 Jongin slowly opened his mouth, his canines looking wickedly sharp in the dim light, and Kyungsoo could not hold back he shudder as they pressed against his skin, not yet breaking it. It felt like somebody was holding two needles against his flesh, but then they punctured the skin and slid in.

 For the barest of moments, Kyungsoo could feel nothing but stabbing pain, and he hissed. But then, just as quickly, that feeling was gone and replaced by another much more comfortable feeling. It was heady, and Kyungsoo felt himself grow a bit lightheaded and dizzy.

 Jongin’s other hand was suddenly cradling the back of Kyungsoo’s neck, massaging it gently, and Kyungsoo felt himself relax a little into the touch.

 “I can taste your fear, relax,” Jongin mumbled, licking some escaping drops of blood away. “I won’t hurt you, don’t be afraid…”

 And Kyungsoo believed him. It might be an effect of Jongin, but Kyungsoo believed him. Slowly but surely, his muscles began to loosen up, and Kyungsoo found himself leaning against the sofa as Jongin continued to suck his blood.

 After a while, Jongin pulled back from Kyungsoo’s wrist, but kept massaging his neck.

 “You need to be careful when you get up,” Jongin whispered, barely even breaking the daze Kyungsoo was in. “You’ll probably be a bit dizzy from the lack of blood.”

 For some reason, Kyungsoo found this incredibly funny, and he gave a tired chuckle, not even bothering with opening his eyes.

 “I can’t believe I just let a vampire suck my blood…,” Kyungsoo mumbled, feeling unexplainable comfortable and warm, though he was sitting on a cold floor. “Never in a million years would I have expected that…”

 “Kyungsoo…,” Jongin began after a moment of silence. “Why do you… You know what, nevermind. I won’t take advantage of your condition.”

 Kyungsoo just hummed a little as he felt himself slip deeper and deeper. A little zing of fear went through him as he wondered if Jongin had taken too much blood, but the steady massaging kept it at bay, and allowed Kyungsoo to fall asleep.

 

~*~

 

 Kyungsoo woke up to a blinding light shining down mercilessly on him. He was feeling a slight headache coming, and his throat felt like sandpaper, but other than that, he was fine. More fine than he thought he would be after sleeping on the floor.

 But as he began to sit up, he realized that the reason for this was that he had  _ not _ ended up sleeping on the floor, but in the sofa.

 “Take it easy,” a voice said, and Jongin showed up in Kyungsoo’s vision, holding something out for him. “Here, drink this. You must be thirsty.”

 “Guess that’s what happens when you’re drained,” Kyungsoo drawled as he accepted the water bottle and greedily drank from it.

 “I didn’t drain you, then you wouldn’t be sitting up right now,” Jongin muttered, and there was a faint pout on his lips as he sat down on the coffee table in front of Kyungsoo.

 “Hm. You’re looking well, though,” Kyungsoo said as he eyed Jongin.

 The night before the vampire had seemed close to lost, but now he looked like normal. If not for the blood still staining his skin, his clothes a bit torn, Jongin looked like he could have walked out onto a runway in the very next moment.

 The small smile he offered just helped enforce that thought, and it made Kyungsoo internally roll his eyes.

 “Yeah, you have potent blood. Thank you, for what you did. I know it is a big deal for you, a great sacrifice,” Jongin said, but Kyungsoo merely shrugged.

 “You did save my life after all, so… I guess I’m glad I could help. And if somebody is going to kill you, I want it to be me.”

 “Wouldn’t surprise me if it actually turned out being you,” Jongin said with a soft chuckle and shake of his head, and Kyungsoo actually rolled his eyes physically now.

 But there was a small smile on his lips that diminished the effect of his eye roll.

 “So, what do we do now?” Kyungsoo asked after a short pause, clearing his throat. It was feeling much better after the water.

 Jongin began to worry his lower lip, eyes focusing on something just above of Kyungsoo’s left shoulder, a frown on his face.

 “We should probably lie low for a while… Continue to investigate whatever we can, but we probably can’t go to the office, or contact them. Fortunately, we have the vampires on our side, they can get some stuff out for us, but I don’t want to use them too much. No need to alert the government about the double agents…”

 Kyungsoo nodded along as he drank the last of the water in the bottle.

 “We should probably make a board with everything we now, both official and unofficial stuff,” Kyungsoo said as he screwed the cap on and began to turn the bottle in his hands, thinking. “Do you have more safehouses like these? Are we safe enough here?”

 “There are more safehouses, and I think we should move to another one as soon as possible,” Jongin said, looking back at Kyungsoo again. “I’ve already called in to set up both blood and food, as well, so it should be stocked by the time we get there.”

 “Okay, then, let’s go,” Kyungsoo said, and stood up.

 Just to almost tip sideways instead, but thankfully, Jongin’s vampire reflexes were pretty good.

 “Whoa, careful! You’re still not recovered,” Jongin said as he held Kyungsoo up by the waist.

 Everything was spinning, and Kyungsoo found himself having to spend an embarrassing amount of time to actually be able to stop his head from lolling back. When he finally managed to force his head up, he saw two ghost-Jongin’s floating in and out of the real Jongin.

 “I… think I might have to puke…,” Kyungsoo panted out, feeling the bile rise in his throat.

 “Close your eyes and take deep breaths,” Jongin prompted as he carefully sat Kyungsoo back down in the sofa, before taking both of his hands. “Push your nails into your palms, that will help you ground yourself.”

 After a few minutes, the nausea ebbed out, leaving Kyungsoo feeling more drained than he had waking up.

 “I just remembered why I don’t donate blood,” Kyungsoo muttered as he slowly opened his eyes, to be met by a grinning Jongin. “Ugh, stop grinning, I really don’t want to puke…”

 This prompted a finger stabbed into Kyungsoo’s side, as Jongin pursed his lips in annoyance.

 “You know, you’re almost as bad as Baekhyun-hyung when you’re feeling friendly enough…,” Jongin mumbled, obviously still miffed.

 “Please don’t compare me to him,” Kyungsoo said in a pained voice. “I am nothing like Byun.”

 “If you say so,” Jongin chirped, eyebrows raised, and Kyungsoo felt like punching him, but Jongin was still holding on to his hands, rendering him immobile.

 They sat like that in silence for a little while, until Kyungsoo started to feel better. Slowly, he pulled his hands out of Jongin’s grip, and the vampire let him, but stayed in place.

 “Is there any clothes here? I don’t think we can go outside like that,” Kyungsoo said, motioning towards Jongin’s ruined and bloodied clothes.

 Jongin quickly looked down at himself, before nodding.

 “Yeah, there is, and a shower. You wanna go first?”

 Kyungsoo shook his head as he lied down on the sofa again. “You go, so I can get some more rest. Would rather not split my head open on the toilet because I had a momentary lapse of judgement and was a nice person.”

 Jongin let out a chuckle at that as he got up from the coffee table and began to walk away.

 “If you need anything, just call, and I’ll come as quickly as possible.”

 Kyungsoo gave a nod as he closed his eyes, but he soon succumbed to the darkness, once more slipping down into nothingness.

 

 Jongin let Kyungsoo sleep for a little while, before waking him up to go shower, but about an hour and a half later, they were freshly cleaned up and dressed, and heading out into the world.

 The sun was standing high in the sky, and even in the neighborhood they were in, there were a lot of people out and about, helping them stay somewhat hidden. Holding on to one of Kyungsoo’s sleeves, Jongin gave subtle yanks and nudges whenever he needed Kyungsoo to move, and without a single word uttered, they traveled from the first safe house, down a couple of streets, to a bus stop.

 They did not have to wait for long before the bus showed up, being one of those that ran at a pretty tight time schedule, and Kyungsoo and Jongin let the mass of people that jumped on at their stop pull them into the large vehicle. After having paid for the ride, they got separated, but made sure to stay in sight of each other.

 They rode in silence, crammed between others, until Jongin finally gave a minuscule nod. As soon as the bus slowed to a stop, Kyungsoo pushed his way outside, having grown incredibly tired of the lack of proper air and space, gulping down several fresh breaths as he waited for Jongin to join him and guide him.

 Just as before, Jongin took a hold of his sleeve and yanked and nudged, through streets even more populated. They were close to the center of the city, and even though that made Kyungsoo incredibly nervous, he also knew that it was one of the best places to hide.

 Without any mishaps, they made it to a non-descript house, which Jongin unlocked with a key he got from the gutter above the door, stretching and showing a sliver of skin between his pants and his shirt. Kyungsoo made sure to look away.

 The inside was just as non-descript as the outside, similar in style to the previous safe house, and Kyungsoo absent-mindedly wondered if it was a theme.

 “There’s both food and blood, so no need to supply me anymore,” Jongin reported as he returned to the living room, having gone scouting the kitchen. Kyungsoo nodded as he moved towards the sofa, feeling rather happy to hear that.

 The blood-sucking had been an intense and strange moment, and he would rather not go through that too soon again. Maybe someday in the future, but Kyungsoo promptly ignored that thought.

 A phone began to ring, ringtone unknown to Kyungsoo, so he glanced over at Jongin who was frowning. He quickly extracted the phone and answered, looking at Kyungsoo, but Kyungsoo just shrugged. He had no idea who it was?

 “Yeah?” Jongin asked, before his eyes widened, and he froze in place, lips moving so quickly Kyungsoo could barely keep up with the words being spoken. “Are you out? Go to the nearest house, make sure you’re not being followed and check injuries, before you move again- This isn’t the time to act like a smartass, hyung! Yeah, okay, keep in touch.”

 “What’s wrong?” Kyungsoo asked as Jongin took the phone away from his ear and ended the call, confused to what was going on.

 Jongin looked up at Kyungsoo for a second, something in his eyes, before he sighed and rubbed at them.

 “I put Baekhyun-hyung on keeping an eye on Park, since he’s involved in this mess as well and doesn’t seem to know about what might be going on, since he’s been able to give you clues,” Jongin said, dragging a hand over his face. “They were just attacked as well. Park was staying late, working on something, and Baekhyun-hyung was there with him, probably annoying him, when shots started going off. Guess they weren’t expecting a vampire to be there, since they were using normal bullets, but Baekhyun-hyung managed to get them both out. They’re on their way to a safehouse to check what damage has been done, before moving on to another. Same routine as us.”

 Shocked, Kyungsoo could barely remember to nod, mouth going dry. Had he unknowingly pulled Chanyeol into this as well? Was he okay?

 “They’re going to check in with us as soon as they’re safe, so until then, you shouldn’t worry too much,” Jongin said, voice suddenly softer as a hand landed on Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “Baekhyun-hyung was acting like his normal stupid self, so everything is probably fine. Maybe a few shallow wounds or something, but Park is a forensic, so he’s probably the person you want to be stuck with when wounded.”

 “He wanted to be a veterinary, but couldn’t stomach hearing the animals being in pain, so he decided to work with dead people and evidence instead,” Kyungsoo mumbled. “He’d probably freak out if he had to stitch a wound closed…”

 Jongin gave a small grimace, but powered on.

 “Baekhyun-hyung has basic training, he can help as well.”

 “If he doesn’t suck him dry first,” Kyungsoo muttered, before shuddering in disgust. “Ew, not a mental picture I wanted…”

 Jongin also looked a bit shaken as he shook his head in agreement.

 “Please don’t say stuff like that again…”

 “Sorry.”

 A silence settled over them as they stood awkwardly in the living room, neither knowing what to do now. Thankfully, Jongin’s phone chimed once, apparently indicating a text. He quickly held his phone up and scanned the content, a small wrinkle appearing between his eyebrows.

 “Is it bad?” Kyungsoo whispered, for some reason scared to raise his voice.

 “Hm, what? Oh, no, it seems like they managed to get away without any major injuries,” Jongin mumbled, still focused on his phone. “And… Wow, apparently they managed to get some of the evidence with them. Park seemed to have found something… We’re meeting at another safehouse to have a talk, and then we go back here whilst they move on to another one.”

 

 Even with the cap pushed as far down on his head as it would go, Kyungsoo still felt exposed. Jongin was sporting a similar cap, and they were both decked out in black clothing as they weaved through the masses of people, trying to appear as unremarkable as possible.

 “Left,” Jongin mumbled, and Kyungsoo immediately turned in the direction. A few days before, he would have probably have come to a stop and crossed his arms whilst glaring at the vampire, but after everything that had happened, he did not even think twice about it.

 After a few more turns, they arrived at a door, which Jongin unlocked and they entered. This place seemed even more unused than the two other Kyungsoo had been to so far, dust covering all surfaces.

 They had barely stepped into the living room before the door opened once more, two people walking inside. First was Chanyeol - his height making his identity obvious - dressed in ripped black jeans and a black hoodie, the hood and a face mask obscuring his face. Baekhyun was wearing similar clothing, but with a cap and a face mask instead.

 “Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol exclaimed as soon as the door was shut, pulling his face mask off to show a worried look. “Are you okay? Baekhyun told me you got attacked like us?”

 “Ah, yeah, I’m fine, he took the brunt of the shots,” Kyungsoo said, nodding his head in Jongin’s direction. “You?”

 “A bullet grazed my arm, but I’m mostly fine,” Chanyeol said, exchanging his worried expression with a relieved one.

 “Lovely reunion, but we have shit to get to, and places to be,” Baekhyun drawled as he headed over to the kitchen, pulling a shoulder strap bag over his head and putting it down on the table. “This is what we managed to take with us, but Doctor Park has more stuff in his brain.”

 Kyungsoo caught the slight red across Chanyeol’s ears and cheeks as they all followed Baekhyun and spread out around the table. Baekhyun pulled some documents from the bag and threw them onto the table, making dust rise, and since Baekhyun was the only one still wearing a mask, he was the only one who did not burst out coughing.

 “You really are an asshole,” Kyungsoo got out, wheezing a little bit. He could see Baekhyun’s impish grin even with the mask covering it.

 “Always so mean,” Baekhyun teased, before straightening up with an eye roll after a glare from Jongin. “Anyway. So, these are various evidence found at the crime scene, and from the various victims. Doctor Park also managed to find some strange substance in the bloodstream of the dead vampires on the scene. Not only that, but he also managed to figure out parts of the compound, and what those elements could possible do to a vampire. This is your cue, doctor!”

 Chanyeol cleared his throat, obviously a little flustered with all of the attention suddenly being on him, but easily got on with his stuff.

 “Yes, like Baekhyun said, I managed to find something unusual in the vampires. I was also able to find traces of it in most of the victims, suggesting that it was being spread to them, and helping my theory to what was going on. You see, several years ago, there were experiments being performed on vampires. After it got out what was happening, most of the experiments were shut down, just like every other morally ambiguous experiment in history.  _ But _ , not before several vampires were basically tortured and killed. The journals of these experiments were leaked to the public, and I managed to find experiments for almost every single substance in this unknown compound.”

 Kyungsoo stared down at the one of the sheets of paper Baekhyun had pushed across the table, trying to make sense of it, but it was too much science talk for him.

 “It’s a really big coincidence that so many of the substances in this case has been used in previous experiments, which leads me to believe that the experiments were used as a base for this compound. Or maybe even for a another experiment, that this compound was then based on. I think these two vampires were escaped test subjects, or set free on purpose as a part of the experiment. Needle marks and bruising support this.”

 Something familiar caught Kyungsoo’s eye, and he dragged the photo towards himself. It was an old photo, a bit yellowish by now, but in his mind, he could see the picture in perfect clarity.

 It was a picture of the street he had once lived on. A street littered with corpses in this particular picture.

 “Isn’t that…,” Jongin began, pointing towards the picture beneath Kyungsoo’s fingertips and glancing up at Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

 “A picture from the Suburban Slaughter, yes,” Chanyeol answered, pulling out another couple of pictures. Kyungsoo refused to look at them, refused to look at the closeups of people he had once known. “There’s many similarities between that case and this one, too many to be a coincidence, so I dug around a little. Turns out, something was discovered, an unknown liquid, but nothing was really looked into it. Or, rather, the people concerned with looking into it either died or dropped the case. Really suspicious. My theory is that an experiment was conducted, something escaped and massacred the entire block before running out of juice, so to say, and then it was covered up by the government or whatever. And now, a similar experiment is being conducted, and has led to this new massacre.”

 A silence settled around the table as Kyungsoo and Jongin tried to absorb all of the new knowledge, minds reeling.

 “Then, the kidnappings…,” Jongin mumbled, looking up at Baekhyun, who nodded.

 “Probably taken as test subjects. There has been an influx in vampire disappearances lately, not enough to raise too much suspicion, but they’re probably being more careful about it nowadays,” Baekhyun said, before nodding towards Chanyeol. “The other theory.”

 “Ah, yes!” Chanyeol exclaimed, clapping his hands together in remembrance. “So, this suspicious compound was found in most of the victims, right? Seems like it acted like a sort of ‘venom’, like how books and movies has depicted vampire infection to happen. Some of the bite marks on the victims didn’t seem like they matched with the vampires, but rather other human victims. Like they went into a craze and tried to eat each other, before dying. Which makes this compound a double threat - not only does it do strange things to vampires, but also humans.”

 Images flashed past in Kyungsoo’s mind; of hiding, of horrible noises, inhuman screams and roars… Of bloody fingers wrapping around the cracks in the door, trying to shake it open, before sliding off and the sound of a body collapsing being heard.

 “Wait, you’re telling me that this  _ drug _ or whatever acted like a vampire infection venom, making humans into vampires?” Jongin asked, disbelief strong in his voice.

 Kyungsoo found himself shaking his head before he even had decided on if to tell the others or not.

 “No… Not vampires. Something in between a human and vampire.”

 Kyungsoo’s voice was soft, but it almost echoed around the silent room as the other three turned to stare at him.

 “How do you know…?” Baekhyun finally asked, braving the silence. He almost flinched as Kyungsoo quickly looked up at him.

 “Because I was there last time. Because I grew up in that neighborhood. Because my brother tried to kill me before he finally died, having finished off our parents before. He held out longer because he was younger, probably.”

 An almost deafening silence now settled over the small group. Chanyeol was looking positively nauseated, as Jongin stared in shock, and Baekhyun merely frowned.

 “Well, that… That explains things…,” Baekhyun slowly mumbled, looking down at the things scattered across the table. “You’re one of the survivors… I am so sorry about your loss.”

 “No, don’t. It was a long time ago,” Kyungsoo said, shaking his head.

 All of sudden, Jongin reached out and flipped all of the photographs depicting the Suburban Slaughter upside down.

 “None of them were of my family,” Kyungsoo said, and Jongin glanced up at him for a moment, before shrugging.

 “You shouldn’t have to see them anyway. They were your neighbors.”

 Kyungsoo did not know what to say at that, so he chose to say nothing.

 “So… What do we do now?” Chanyeol finally said, breaking the silence that had once more settled over the group.

 Jongin heaved a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest.

 “We try to find out what’s actually going on. The evidence so far seem to point to crazy experiments, so we need to try to find out if there are experiments going on, and in that case, who’s conducting them.”

 “Oh, I might be able to trace some of the chemical compounds, so we can make a list and see if we can find suspicious buyers,” Chanyeol said, brain already whirring as he dragged a fingertip across his lower lip. It took him a few moments to realize that everyone else was staring at him quite judgingly. “What?”

 “Uh, you can’t go back to the lab?” Kyungsoo deadpanned. “You’ll get shot at again?”

 Chanyeol frowned at that, shaking his head slightly.

 “Who said I was going back there? I have other options, and I have enough samples to make extensive tests. Why do you think I grabbed so much as we were fleeing?”

 “Okay, then I suggest me and Chanyeol take care of the lab stuff and research, whilst you two play the agents in field,” Baekhyun said, starting to pack everything together again. “We’ll keep in touch, and meet up every now and then. Sounds good?”

 Jongin nodded, and apparently that was good enough for Baekhyun, who shouldered the strap of the bag and motioned for Chanyeol to pull his face mask up again.

 “No unnecessary contact, try to keep as low as possible, and we’ll probably not be able to provide backup, so make sure to note everything down so others can access it,” Baekhyun said as he led the others towards the door. “We’ll head out first, give us a while, and then go after us.”

 “I know the protocol, hyung,” Jongin said with an eye roll.

 Baekhyun turned to look at Jongin, giving him probably the softest look Kyungsoo had ever seen him give anyone.

 “Yeah, I know, I just… Stay safe. We might be getting close to unfolding this entire conspiracy, but it’s still dangerous.”

 Then Baekhyun had opened the door and dragged Chanyeol outside, the taller giving a quick wave, before the door was slammed closed and leaving Kyungsoo and Jongin alone yet again.

 There was a heavy silence between them, and Kyungsoo knew Jongin had questions. It was not that strange, after all.

 “So… I guess I know why you hate vampires, now…,” Jongin slowly said, eyes trained on the door. “Can’t really blame you, either.”

 “Yeah,” Kyungsoo hummed, shrugging as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I guess not.”

 They were silent for a little bit longer, before Jongin finally turned to look at Kyungsoo.

 “I’m also guessing that’s why you’re having nightmares.”

 Shocked, Kyungsoo turned to stare at Jongin, eyes wide open. Because yes, the whole event had led to him having some rather nasty nightmares, but he did not remember having any during the two only times he had been asleep around Jongin.

 “Last night, after I moved you into the sofa, you began to move around, panting and groaning,” Jongin mumbled, gaze darting between Kyungsoo’s two near-round eyes. “You looked to be in pain, but you started to calm down when I began to massage your neck again.”

 “Oh. Uh, yeah,” Kyungsoo said, looking away. “I sometimes dream about… The event. But massaging my neck is something that always calm me down, my mom used to do it to me when I was younger and having a nightmare. Or am just feeling unwell.”

 Jongin slowly nodded, toeing at the floor and kicking it lightly. After taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth again. “I realize this might not, well, I guess be appropriate, but if you ever feel the need to talk to somebody about anything, or just need a neck rub, let me know. We’re basically stuck together for at least a little while, so… I don’t know, I’m just offering. Do with it whatever you want. Let’s go back to the safe house, enough time has past.”

 As the vampire strode over to the door, Kyungsoo could not keep a small, gentle smile off of his lips.

 

~*~

 

 After arriving back at the safe house, Kyungsoo made himself some food, offering Jongin some of the ramen as well. Taking a bottle of synthetic blood, Jongin declined the offer, and they ate/drank in silence by the living room table, Kyungsoo on the floor on one side and Jongin in the sofa on the other side.

 Done with his meal, Kyungsoo pushed his bowl away, and laced his fingers together, placing his hands on top of the table. He had been having some questions for a while now, and now felt like the time to ask them.

 “So, Jongin…,” Kyungsoo slowly said, not looking up but feeling the vampire’s stare on him. “I’m having a few questions… Do you mind me asking?”

 “Of course not,” Jongin quickly said. “Go ahead and ask, and I’ll try my best to answer.”

 Kyungsoo pursed his lips lightly, wondering which question he should ask first. He knew most of them probably could be continued on for a long time, and was not sure if he wanted to get stuck in a discussion as he was craving answers to other things. But, oh well, nothing gained if nothing risked, and so Kyungsoo just chose the first question to randomly pop into his head.

 “You said my blood is potent?” Kyungsoo blurted out, clearly surprising Jongin. “What does that mean? There’s a difference between blood? And mine is magical?”

 Jongin gave a snort that evolved into a chuckle, dragging a hand through his hair.

 “I don’t know if I would call it  _ magical _ , but yes, there’s a difference between blood. It all depends on the person and their lifestyle. A junkie’s blood taste worse and isn’t as nutritious as the blood of, well, someone like you,” Jongin explained, leaning forwards with his elbows on his knees. “A bit like the difference between fast food and a well-cooked meal. Same with bottled blood, or synthetic blood, the real deal is always the best, and the real deal from someone well-trained and healthy… It’s close to the best thing you could ever taste.”

 Kyungsoo had sat in silence, looking at Jongin with a light frown, as he had absorbed the new information.

 “What’s the best thing, then?” Kyungsoo asked after a few seconds, continuing after seeing Jongin’s slightly lost expression. “That you could ever taste, what the best thing?”

 “Oh,” Jongin simply said as he sat up straight again, hands interlocked in his lap as he worried his lower lips for a few moments. “It’s said that there are certain people that have extremely tasty blood, for no real reason. I’d be tempted to put you into that category, actually, if I believed in it. But it’s also said that the blood of someone who loves you tastes amazing.”

 Now it was Kyungsoo’s turn to snort, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

 “The power of love making blood more tasty? Wow, really?” he teased, to which Jongin simply shrugged. “Come on, Jongin, you actually believe that? It’s like a variant on the true love’s kiss legend!”

 “All I know is that I can drink blood and gain strength, but also feed on sexual energies to a certain extent. So to say that true love’s drinking, I guess, is stupid isn’t something I can do. Too plausible.”

 Kyungsoo held both hands up to stop the vampire, eyes once more threatening to pop out of his skull.

 “Whoa, hold up, boy!” Kyungsoo exclaimed, making Jongin purse his lips. “You’re telling me you can actually  _ feed _ off of sex?”

 “Yes,” Jongin answered, punctuating the word with a small nod.

 “No way,” Kyungsoo shot back, shaking his head. “How come I don’t- How come this isn’t public knowledge?”

 To that, Jongin actually had the indecency to  _ smirk _ , much to Kyungsoo’s annoyance.

 “Why do you think vampire prostitutes are so highly sought after? Why do you think we’ve been rather easily accepted into some parts of society, though we still scare most of it? A lot of it has to do with kinks, yes, but a lot also has to do with purely the sex.”

 “But that doesn’t make sense,” Kyungsoo said, frowning to try to hide his own rising embarrassment over the complete turn in topic. “How does vampires ability to feed off of sex play into your covetousness?”

 Jongin was once more leaning forwards, the smirk still in place, and Kyungsoo wanted to wipe it off right in that very moment but he held himself back.

 “The more relaxed a person is whilst having their blood drunk, the better the blood will taste,” Jongin began, voice low and seemingly assaulting Kyungsoo from all sides. “If you’re stressed or scared, those emotions will carry over, and  _ poison _ the blood, if you will. If you, on the other hand, is very relaxed,  _ more _ than relaxed, the blood will taste even better. So through natural selection or some other happening, it seemed like the vampire body adapted to this fact… And that means that I can exude a hormone that will make certain feelings even more powerful.”

 Kyungsoo was positively gobsmacked, at a loss for words. The whole thing about different blood tasting different was rather logical, and had not been that shocking to him, but this little revelation…

 It was truly shocking.

 Yet not that unbelievable. And that made it all so much worse.

 “Relax,” Jongin suddenly said, all the teasing and smirking gone now, his voice as soft as his smile. “I can hear your heart racing. I’m not going to attack you or anything to prove it.”

 “I… am not scared...?” Kyungsoo slowly said, making it into a question because he was not a hundred percent sure about that statement. “Overwhelmed. Yes, overwhelmed is a better word for it…”

 Jongin sat watching him for a little while, before shrugging.

 “Okay, then. I guess it’s a lot of information to take in. You should probably head off to bed and get some sleep. We have things to do tomorrow.”

 Humming in agreement, Kyungsoo pushed himself off of the floor, saying a ‘goodnight’ to Jongin, before absently climbing the stairs to the bedroom. As he took a quick shower and got ready for bed, his mind kept spinning around vampiric feeding, and the sensations he had felt himself whilst being subjected to it.

 Because at first, he had felt the pain of the teeth slicing through his skin and flesh, into the vein, but then that sensation had just disappeared to be exchanged with another one. A better one, a heady one, if he did not remember completely wrong. It was hard to say, the memories of it all was a bit hazy now…

 Laying in the bed, Kyungsoo lifted his right arm, holding it up for inspection. In the faint moonlight, he could just barely make out the two, small, slightly paler patches of skin, only scars remaining. Kyungsoo wondered if there was something in Jongin’s saliva that sped up the healing process, or maybe it was something else. By now, it would not surprise him.

 Thinking back to that night, other memories resurfaced as well. How Jongin had taken shot after shot to get them out of there, how he had been so close to fully death, his choked out words as he had been about to bite Kyungsoo…

 Promptly, Kyungsoo’s stomach dropped into his feet, even though he was lying down, and he pressed both hands against his eyelids to try to get that voice out of his head. Complications, so many complications, he did not need to add any more…

 

 Jongin had been pacing around the small office room, back and forth, trying to get all the images and scents out of his head.

 Maybe it had been a mistake answering Kyungsoo’s questions, but from how the human had been opening up lately, Jongin had been unable to do anything else. He wanted Kyungsoo to  _ trust _ him, for some stupid reason, and so he had disclosed things that might have been better left alone.

 Jongin could still hear how fast Kyungsoo’s heart had beaten, could still recall how large his eyes had been, filled with shock and something else. He wondered if he had pushed the human too far, if he would meet the Kyungsoo of a few weeks back in the morning, but Jongin could not bring himself to regret his openness. At least not fully.

 He heard the footsteps as soon as Kyungsoo got out of his bed, but Jongin did not pay attention to them until they were already at the door to the office, and by then it was too late.

 As the door was pushed open, thousands of thoughts flew through Jongin’s mind, but the most prominent was the question if Kyungsoo was here to finally kill him. Drive the stake through his heart and finally get it over with. Slowly, Jongin turned around, hands fisted by his sides and trying to come up with what to do, but there was no need.

 Kyungsoo was standing before him, dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, short hair still slightly damp from the shower - and relaxed hands lacking weapons.

 “Show me,” he said, voice soft and deep, eyes dark and unreadable, and Jongin’s breath got caught in his throat. “Show me.”

 Jongin could have asked what Kyungsoo meant, but he knew. And if he had not known, Kyungsoo’s accelerated heart rate and rise in body temperature would quickly have clued him in.

 “Are you sure?” Jongin forced himself to ask, staying frozen in place. His voice was a bit raspy from shock and holding himself back. Ever since he had gotten a taste of Kyungsoo’s blood, he had wanted  _ more _ .

 Nodding slowly, Kyungsoo took one, two, three steps, stopping just a little way away from Jongin.

 “I want to know what it feels like… I barely remember the first time, but I can’t stop thinking about it,” Kyungsoo said, voice nothing more but a whisper, but Jongin still heard. Jongin heard everything. “ _ Show me _ .”

 And who was Jongin to deny Kyungsoo’s request?

 Stepping forwards, breaching the last distance between them, Jongin slowly reached up to cup Kyungsoo’s cheek with a hand. Brushing a thumb across that plump lower lip, Jongin felt Kyungsoo’s heartbeats echo against his skin.

 The temptation was almost overwhelming.

 “Is this okay?” Jongin asked, murmured, voice barely carrying, but Kyungsoo was standing close enough to hear.

 With his enhanced senses, Jongin should have seen it coming, should have seen it as it was happening, should have been able to stop it, but he blamed shock for how he suddenly found himself standing with his thumbs trapped between Kyungsoo’s teeth, the human holding it firmly, but not painfully.

 “If you’re going to ask for my permission every time you try something, I’ll walk right back out again,” Kyungsoo hissed as he released Jongin’s thumb, scowling. “I came here and asked for it, that’s all the permission you need.”

 Well, then, there all the caution went. Surging forwards, quicker than Kyungsoo could blink, Jongin pressed their lips together, a tight grip on the humans upper arms. Electricity sizzled as they kissed, warmth against coldness. Spinning them around, Jongin forced Kyungsoo to back up, until he was crowding him against the desk.

 Breaking the kiss, Jongin leaned down and placed his hands on Kyungsoo’s thighs, easily lifting him up on top of the desk and placing him there, so that they are closer in height. Before Kyungsoo could gulp down a well-needed breath, Jongin’s lips are once more on his, this time with a tongue added to the mix.

 Kyungsoo’s head was already spinning from the intensity of the kiss, and when cold fingers started wandering up beneath his shirt, he could not help but gasp and press himself closer to Jongin, legs wrapped around slim hips. Kyungsoo’s own fingers quickly found the edge of Jongin’s shirt, wasting no time in pulling it off and letting his fingers run down Jongin’s front, across those rather impressive chocolate abs… Yes, Kyungsoo liked them.

 Jongin shivered beneath his touch, and Kyungsoo could not help the small smirk from appearing on his lips, enjoying the effect he had on the vampire. Soon after, Kyungsoo’s shirt was discarded on the floor as well, leaving him bare and chilly, yet warm.

 Pressing one last kiss to Kyungsoo’s lips, Jongin then began to kiss his way down Kyungsoo’s jaw, and across his throat, a deep groan vibrating against Kyungsoo’s too-hot skin.

 “You still smell so good… Intoxicating, I could stay like this all day,” Jongin muttered, dragging the tip of his nose up and down Kyungsoo’s throat, inhaling deeply. Half ticklish and half arousing, Kyungsoo bit down on his lower lip, fingers digging into the flesh of Jongin’s back.

 Then there was fingers running across Kyungsoo’s jaw, settling on it and his cheek, holding his face gently yet firmly. His eyes shot open - when had they even closed - as he realized what was about to happen, unconsciously tightening his legs around Jongin’s hips.

 “Relax, it’s okay,” Jongin sweetly murmured against Kyungsoo’s skin, free hand going up to cradle and massage the back of Kyungsoo’s head. “I’m not going to hurt you, just relax…”

 Kyungsoo tried to take deep breaths, but fear and anticipation squeezed his lungs, making it impossible to do more than a few short breaths. His lower lip was stinging by now, but he kept abusing it, trying to use the slight pain to help him.

 Jongin did not give him the chance to calm down fully.

 Kyungsoo gave a shaky gasp as the sharp teeth penetrated his flesh - the piercing pain quickly replaced by the heady numbness spreading through his veins. The fingertips gently pressing into his cheek and jaw, holding his head in place, became burning points, the lips ghosting over his throat raising goosebumps, the tongue lapping at his skin sending shiver down his spine.

 His head was spinning already, fisted hands wrapped around the edge of the table beneath him. Letting his eyelids slip closed, Kyungsoo tilted his head forwards until it was lying against a strong shoulder, exposing more of his neck, wanting more of the fire slowly burning through his veins.

 This… It had never felt like this before…

 For a split second, Kyungsoo feared what would happen if Jongin did not stop. If Jongin decided to suck him dry. He was powerless right now, completely giving in to the vampire - and Jongin could easily do whatever he wanted. But before that thought had even fully materialized, Jongin stopped feeding, instead pulling back a little and giving a slow lick over the two puncture marks, Kyungsoo gasping once more as his entire body tensed up, straining.

 “There are two sides to everything,” Jongin murmured against Kyungsoo’s neck, Kyungsoo biting down on his bruised lower lip to keep the moan in. “You have always seen my feeding as something repulsive... This is my way of staying alive, but that does not mean that I will make it even more barbaric than I have to...”

 Tilting Kyungsoo’s head upright again, Jongin used his thumb to free Kyungsoo’s lower lip, before he let his tongue run over it, wound stinging softly, before he pressed their lips together. Tasting both Jongin and his own blood, Kyungsoo’s mind clouded as a heavy heat settled itself in his lower abdomen.

 “ _ More _ ,” Kyungsoo breathed against Jongin’s lips as they once more separated, yet connected by a string of saliva. Jongin licked it away, before pulling Kyungsoo off of the table, and instead bending him over it.

 “I can give you more,” Jongin mewled into Kyungsoo’s ear as he leaned on top of the other, laying his entire body on top of the human. “I can give you everything…”

 “Yes,” Kyungsoo gasped, pushing himself back against Jongin, to show that he wanted it all.

 Then the rather comforting weight of Jongin disappeared, and Kyungsoo heard the door click open. Before surprise was able to fully break through his lust-induced haze, though, Kyungsoo once more felt the presence of Jongin behind him, strong hands gripping his hips.

 And when those strong hands pulled his pants and underwear down with one quick tug, Kyungsoo could not help the deep shudder running down his spine, fingers clawing at the wood beneath him. Jongin was pressing his lips and tongue against Kyungsoo’s spine, between the shoulder blades, as he slowly and carefully worked him open.

 “L-lube, where di- _ ah _ -did you get lube f-from?” Kyungsoo managed to ask, having to lick his lips free from drool. Those fingers were way too skilled, and Kyungsoo could not help but wonder if they actually were, or if it was the mystery hormone Jongin claimed to be able to give.

 “Nowhere,” Jongin mumbled, the small vibrations going across his skin making Kyungsoo tremble.

 He was so sensitive,  _ over _ -sensitive, the warmth in his veins and low in his stomach against the coldness of Jongin’s fingers and kisses making for a terrific overload.

 Jongin retreated from Kyungsoo’s body, rustling being heard, but Kyungsoo did not make the connection until something was pressed against him. Placing his cheek down on top of the cool wood, he tried to take deep breaths yet again, but miserably failed as Jongin breached him, choking as Jongin pushed deeper. It did not hurt, per se, but it was uncomfortable, and Kyungsoo gritted his teeth together as Jongin slowly bottomed out.

 They both let out trembling exhales as Jongin’s hip bones pressed into Kyungsoo’s buttocks, trying to catch their breaths as they stayed still, both trying to get used to the feeling.

 “Okay?” Jongin panted into Kyungsoo’s ears, electricity and shivers coursing through the human.

 “I thought I fucking told-” Kyungsoo began, but his words got lost in a prolonged moan as Jongin pulled out and slowly pushed inside again.

 “Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t breaking you, jeez,” Jongin grumbled, and Kyungsoo could not help the low laughter bubbling up his throat. The way their bodies moved as he laughed quickly shut Kyungsoo up again, and he felt Jongin’s fingers claw at his hips.

 The wildfire returned in full force, burning them both alive, forcing them into action. And even though Jongin started slowly and carefully, it was obvious that he was holding back, and that his fingers would leave mark.

 But he had marked Kyungsoo already anyway, so what was another few bruises really?

 Growing tired and frustrated with being handled like a doll, Kyungsoo began to push back, meet Jongin’s every thrust. He knew that the vampire was stronger than him, and much so, and he knew that it could go south real fast, but Kyungsoo was too into the moment and did not really care. So he continued, hoping he might be able to push Jongin over the edge, and bring out the monster, so to speak.

 And, well, you should be careful about what you wish for.

 With a growl rumbling from deep within his chest, Jongin fisted his hand in Kyungsoo’s hair, pulling the human’s head back and exposing his throat. Kyungsoo only had half a second to regret what he had done, before Jongin’s teeth once more sank into his skin, this time on the other side of his throat.

 What Kyungsoo had not expected, though, was the mind-blowing feeling that entered him, spreading throughout his veins and seeping into his very cells. The tips of his fingers and toes were tingling, a loud buzz in his ears, but Kyungsoo did not mind, did not care. It just added to the overall experience of having Jongin truly pound into him as his mind went completely blank and dazed. Decadent ecstasy was all he knew, no longer able to fully separate reality from thought. Knees buckling a little, Kyungsoo was basically only held up by the poor, creaking desk now, and the changed angle had Jongin hitting his prostate with each and every delicious snap of his hips.

 Mouth falling open and eyes rolling into the back of his head, Kyungsoo finally managed to think one thought - and that was the question  _ why _ he had not let the vampire bend him over and take him until now. Because it was  _ amazing _ , so much more than he had expected.

 Quickly building his thrill, Kyungsoo tried to scream as his orgasm hit him, but it got stuck in his throat.

 Wide open eyes were unseeing as Kyungsoo’s body shook and trembled, nerve endings exploding into fireworks, pleasure filling him until he managed a weak, breathless whimper. He was so far gone that he barely felt Jongin’s teeth slipping out of his flesh as the other grunted, one last deep thrust combined with Kyungsoo’s bliss also sending him over the edge.

 Panting as the orgasm finally released its hold, Kyungsoo relaxed into a destroyed mess on the desk, random muscles twitching every now and then.

 “Kyungsoo? Kyungsoo, are you okay?” was hoarsely whispered into his ear, and Kyungsoo shuddered, the feeling of Jongin’s cool abdomen pressed against the overheated skin of his back rather nice.

 “I… What was that?” Kyungsoo rasped, licking his dry lips with his even drier tongue. “I don’t think I’ve ever come that quick,  _ untouched _ , in my entire life…”

 “I might have gone a bit overboard,” Jongin answered, and he sounded a bit embarrassed.  _ Cute _ , Kyungsoo thought to himself, mind too tired. “You overwhelmed me.”

 “ _ I _ overwhelmed  _ you _ ? Dude, I can't feel my legs,” Kyungsoo chuckled, trying to open his eyes but failing.

 Jongin slipped out of him, and Kyungsoo winced at the feeling, before he found himself being lifted into the air. If he had been a little less tired, he would have protested.

 “I can barely feel mine either, but let's hope they're strong enough to get us to the bed,” Jongin said, and Kyungsoo almost argued for going into the shower, but decided against it. He felt as if he floated, and not only because Jongin was holding him so gently.

 “I feel completely drained,” Kyungsoo complained as he felt himself being softly placed into the bed, a blanket tucked around him.

 “You should, you were in two ways, actually,” Jongin chuckled, his voice starting to fade.

 Kyungsoo found the strange urge to lift his hand and wrap it around Jongin’s wrist, not letting him leave.

 “I'm going to have a comeback in the morning,” Kyungsoo promised, feeling himself slipping from consciousness. “I need intense cuddles after sex…”

 Kyungsoo had already fallen asleep by the time Jongin joined him in bed, but that did not stop his body from instinctively curling against the taller, humming in satisfaction as an arm wrapped around him.

 

 When Kyungsoo woke up the next morning, there was only one question on his mind.

 “Why are you warm?” he asked, voice sleep-hoarse.

 “Your body heat, it warms my skin up as well,” Jongin answered, amusement clear in his voice. “And good morning to you as well. Sleep well?”

 “Completely knocked out,” Kyungsoo mumbled, still not opening his eyes, legs still tangled with Jongin’s. When did that even happen? “I’m guessing not that strange… You seem awfully energetic, though. Am I that bad of a lay?”

 Something collided with Kyungsoo’s forehead, and he scrunched up his nose, realizing it was most probably a finger flicking him. What the fuck?

 “You don’t remember what I told you yesterday? I literally fed  _ double _ from you, both blood and energy, I’m basically overflowing at the moment!”

 “Yeah, like my ass…,” Kyungsoo grumbled, just now noticing the icky feeling. “Fuck, this is what I get for not showering before going to bed…”

 “None of us would have been able to stay standing long enough to even quickly shower,” Jongin said, and Kyungsoo could almost imagine the incredulous expression that was obviously on his face. “We were both blissed out of our minds, there was no way!”

 “Then we could have bathed.”

 “We’d fallen asleep in the bathtub.”

 Kyungsoo groaned and rolled over onto his other side, still not opening his eyes. “Stop arguing with me early in the morning, you’re not the one with cum down his ass and thighs!”

 Suddenly, Jongin was wrapping his arms around Kyungsoo’s upper body, morning wood pressed against the back of Kyungsoo’s thighs.

 “Want some help?” Jongin murmured in a too-deep voice, and Kyungsoo felt it go through his entire body, from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. The vampire had an insanely attractive voice, and it really was not fair…

 “Are you kidding me? Let you drink twice from me again, stealing even more energy from me?” Kyungsoo said with a snort. “I’d rather hang on to what little I have, thank you very much!”

 “I  _ can _ control myself and not drain you in either of those ways, Kyungsoo,” Jongin said with an amused tone. “Just a second round, not forced forwards by curiosity or hunger.”

 Kyungsoo finally opened his eyes, to squint at Jongin over his shoulder. The vampire’s hair was all over the place, in that kind of ‘fucking then sleeping’ kind of way, eyes dark and heavy, and all too handsome for Kyungsoo’s heart that early in the morning. Groaning, Kyungsoo closed his eyes again, then pushed himself backwards just a little bit, enough to add some pressure, getting his reward in the form a shaky inhale.

 “Not actually sure you can control yourself…,” Kyungsoo mumbled, smiling a little as the vampire muttered something behind him.

 Before Jongin could retort, Kyungsoo’s phone began to vibrate, from where he had placed it on the bedside table the night before. Frowning, he reached for it and checked the caller ID, raising a brow at ‘ _ Hyunsik _ ’ spelled across his screen.

 “Should you answer that?” Jongin asked, the teasing and softness gone from his voice, Investigator Kim firmly in place.

 “He’s a close friend,” Kyungsoo said, before accepting the call and pressing the phone to his ear. “Yes?”

 “Kyungsoo! Thank the moon, I’ve been so worried…,” Hyunsik babbled, sounding as if he was on the brink of despair. “You just disappeared, and I didn’t know- You’re okay, right?”

_ A little sore _ , Kyungsoo thought to himself, but neither Hyunsik nor Jongin needed to know that.

 “Yes, I’m okay,” Kyungsoo answered, sitting up and wincing a little, said soreness flaring a little in pain. A hand placed itself against his lower back, and the slight chill of it felt nice. Guess Jongin knew anyway. “Are you okay, though? You sound… scared?”

 A humorless chuckle tumbled from the speaker, and an icy bad feeling wedged itself into Kyungsoo’s heart.

 “I’m fine at the moment, but I’m also scared shitless. I need to see you, there’s… There’s something I need to give you. Really important. Can you meet me in our usual place in thirty?”

 Kyungsoo frowned, but accepted nonetheless. After saying quick goodbyes, Kyungsoo got out of the bed, heading towards the bathroom.

 “I don’t like it. It sounds like a trap,” Jongin voiced out as Kyungsoo was halfway across the floor. “Are you sure you can trust him?”

 No. “Yes. We’ve been friends for many years, it’s fine,” Kyungsoo said, throwing in a small smirk to try to make Jongin (and himself) relax a little. “You’re just upset you didn’t get a second round.”

 Jongin rolled his eyes, but the slight wrinkle of apprehension never left his forehead. “I’d probably not have gotten it anyway, since your curiosity should have been plenty satisfied last night…”

 “Maybe the other plentily satisfied parts of me wouldn’t mind a second round,” Kyungsoo teased, before closing the bathroom door and locking it.

 Sure, if Jongin really wanted, he could easily break it down or pull it open, but Kyungsoo trusted that he would not. The vampire had managed to prove that he was not as bad as Kyungsoo had initially thought, but rather accepting Kyungsoo’s personal space unless invited.

 Maybe there was some truth to the myth about having to invite a vampire inside?

 

~*~

 

 Freshly showered and dressed as inconspicuous as possible, Kyungsoo led the way to the meeting place.

 Whenever Kyungsoo and Hyunsik had time and felt like meeting outside of work, they would meet up in a small restaurant in the nearby mall. It was tiny and mutely decorated, dark woods and dimmed lights giving a nice atmosphere. Great for agents who wanted to stay a bit anonymous.

 When Kyungsoo and Jongin arrived, Hyunsik was already there, standing leaned against one of the pillars outside of the restaurant. He was dressed in regular-looking clothes, along with a cap, but Kyungsoo could see it was Hyunsik from the way he was standing.

 He had always been a bit obvious.

 “Are we going inside?” Kyungsoo asked in a low voice as they reached Hyunsik.

 The poor man jerked in surprise, head snapping up to lock wide eyes on Kyungsoo’s face.

 “Oh my god! You’re here, you’re unharmed!” Hyunsik rushed out, before Kyungsoo was pulled into a sudden hug. “I heard… I heard all of these bad things…”

 Not really knowing what to do, Kyungsoo resorted to simply patting Hyunsik’s back.

 “I’m fine, really. Can we go inside and get to the stuff? Hyunsik, it’s not  _ safe _ out-”

 Hyunsik immediately pulled back, and if Kyungsoo was not mistaken, he was blinking tears away, face turned away as he shook his head.

 “I don’t have time, I just needed to get this to you…,” Hyunsik said, thrusting something into Kyungsoo’s hand that was still awkwardly hanging in the air after Hyunsik had pulled back. “Time is running out, and I need to go soon, but I wanted to see you one last time, Kyungsoo.”

 “What’s this?” Kyungsoo asked, looking down at the file in his hand. It was thick, so thick the folder almost did not wrap around the collection of papers. “What are you talking about?”

 “It’s what I could get with me from the archive,” Hyunsik said in a low voice, pushing Kyungsoo’s hand so that the file pressed against his abdomen. “Unfortunately it’s not everything, but hopefully it’s enough.”

 Confused, Kyungsoo looked up at his friend with a frown.

 “Hyunsik…”

 But Hyunsik shook his head quickly, shutting Kyungsoo up.

 “Don’t. It’s all of the help I can be of for you, and I really hope it’s enough, because otherwise… I might die in vain.”

 Kyungsoo’s heart did an uncomfortable skip, making Jongin glance over at him.

 “What? Die in vain? Tell me what’s going on right now, Lim Hyunsik!”

 Groaning, Hyunsik dragged a hand over his face, before taking a deep breath. Seemingly deciding to fuck it all, he pinned Kyungsoo with a stare.

 “I’ve not been entirely truthful with you. I’ve known a lot more about what’s going on than I’ve let on. When I first joined the archive, I was forced to either swear an oath, or live the rest of my life under constant surveillance, probably only waiting for a bullet to my head as soon as someone even  _ suspected _ I talked about shit I’m not allowed to talk about. Seeing no difference between the two options, I decided to swear the oath. Kyungsoo, I’ve known the truth about the Suburban Slaughter for years now.”

 Unable to believe what he was hearing, Kyungsoo could only stare in stunned silence at the man he had seen as a close friend for  _ years _ now. How was this possible?

 “I know I should’ve told you a long time ago, but I was scared they would kill the both of us,” Hyunsik quickly continued, seemingly sinking into himself little by little. “I couldn’t risk that… I was trying to find a way to let you know, and when this new massacre happened, I thought that maybe, just maybe, you’d be able to figure it out on your own. As soon as the news hit the office, the higher-ups were barking out orders about hiding whatever evidence could be seen as damning, and knowing about my relationship with you, they pulled me aside to let me know specifically that things would not end well if I tried to help you… After you came for the case file, I took what I could, and fled. I’ve been hiding ever since, needing to get this to you. It should be enough to help you, and I hope… I hope it might help you forgive me as well. Not now, but maybe in the future.”

 Kyungsoo was still too shocked to give a proper answer, fingers trembling as he shook his head. He had trusted Hyunsik for so long, and his trust had been betrayed over and over again…

 All of a sudden, Jongin was stepping in front of Kyungsoo, between him and Hyunsik, but before Kyungsoo was able to ask the vampire what he was doing, the sound of something hitting flesh was heard, and a muffled gasp fell from Hyunsik’s lips. The entire area quietened down, before glass shattered, and then Kyungsoo was able to hear the faint sound of gunshots.

 Around them, people began to panic, running around, and Kyungsoo was being pulled behind a pillar by Jongin - Jongin who had a collapsed Hyunsik in his arms, carrying him along as well.

 As soon as they were in relative safety, Jongin pushed Hyunsik into Kyungsoo’s arms, and the two friends sank to the floor as the vampire chanced a glance around the pillar, almost getting his head blown off in the process.

 Hyunsik was wheezing in Kyungsoo’s embrace, a trickle of blood running down his chin, but Kyungsoo was just staring at it, not understanding.

 “The file… Enough…,” Hyunsik managed to get out, clawing at the case file still in one of Kyungsoo’s hands, leaving blood smears across it. “Live happily… Kyungsoo…”

 Hyunsik’s eyelids were fluttering closed, and then he blurred, Kyungsoo’s vision obviously not working properly anymore. Holding Hyunsik’s head to his chest, Kyungsoo trembled so badly  that he was making strange noises - but then he realized that he was sobbing.

 Jongin was by his side again, pulling Hyunsik out of his embrace and Kyungsoo to his feet, shouting something Kyungsoo could not make out. When he tried to go for the file, Kyungsoo recoiled back, pressing it hard against his chest, and Jongin reached for his free hand instead.

 “We need to go!” Kyungsoo was finally making out in the total chaos, and then Jongin was tugging him along, zig-zagging between obstacles.

 They were leaving Hyunsik behind, and it tore Kyungsoo’s heart apart.

 Following the flow of people outside, Jongin and Kyungsoo kept running, even as they got further and further away. It was not until they were several blocks away, having ducked into endless alleys, that they finally stopped.

 Numb with shock, Kyungsoo did not feel the pain of his back hitting the brick wall as he was backed up against it. He knew he was shaking, from how everything seemed to vibrate just a little, but he could not  _ feel _ it.

 “Kyungsoo!” Jongin snapped, breaking Kyungsoo partially from his trance. “Are you okay? Did you get hit?”

 Kyungsoo managed to shake his head, the back of it scraping against brick in a way that would probably leave scratch marks. He did not know if he was shot, he did not think so, but he was sure as hell not okay.

 Kyungsoo was a supernatural investigator, trained to examine crime scenes, investigate cases, and catch all sorts of bad people. He had seen some of the most horrific things one could, but that barely fazed him anymore.

 But seeing  _ Hyunsik _ get shot in the back, bleeding out pathetically on the floor, because he had been trying to do  _ the right thing _ …

 Kyungsoo did not know if he would ever be okay.

 “I know he was a close friend of yours, and I know you’re hurting right now, but Kyungsoo, we have to go,” Jongin urgently said to Kyungsoo, and the human realized that he had been zoning out again. “Don’t let his death go to waste.”

 Clenching his jaw, Kyungsoo lowered his head, not wanting to feel Jongin’s gaze on his face at the moment. Swallowing all of the tears, he gave a slight nod, and then he felt Jongin starting to drag him along again.

 

 Situated in a new safe house, Kyungsoo had not moved from the sofa. His eyes were scanning through the documents in the case file, even though they were hurting so badly he had to rub them every now and then just to ease it.

 He had already gone through half of it, laid things out in order on the coffee table in front of him. Jongin was sitting on the other side of the table, every now and then glancing up at the human, but mostly looking through the things Kyungsoo already had. He had asked if Kyungsoo wanted something to drink or anything, or take a shower to wash away the blood, but Kyungsoo had shook his head and planted himself in the sofa, and Jongin did not have the heart to do anything else but stay close and offer his support.

 Silently, Kyungsoo held a new document out for Jongin, who took it and looked it over.

 “This… is a list of people?” Jongin asked in confusion, frowning as he scanned over the names.

 “A list of people involved in the experiments on vampires,” Kyungsoo said, voice darker and raspier than normal. “A secret government-led study, and most probably the reason behind the Suburban Slaughter.”

 Jongin’s eyes widened as his grip on the paper got tighter, small wrinkles appearing. Quickly, he reached into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out his phone and dialing a number.

 Knowing who the vampire was calling, Kyungsoo got back to reading the documents with Jongin talking to Baekhyun as a background noise.

 There were so many things that Kyungsoo had never known, so many seemingly trivial things that when coupled with these ‘new’ pieces of evidence made so much more sense, and became so much more important…

 “Baekhyun and Park are coming over,” Jongin said, pulling Kyungsoo out of his reading and making him glance up. “There’s so much… We’re going to need help with this.”

 Kyungsoo nodded and got back to work, reading through a few documents, before coming across a post-it note stuck to a sheet. He recognized Hyunsik’s writing, heart clenching painfully, and once again it made Jongin look over at him. To think that the vampire could actually hear his heart hurt…

 The note was quickly scribbled, an address and a few words, but combined with what the sheet it was stuck to said, it was enough to make Kyungsoo stand up abruptly, dropping everything else to scatter around him.

 “What? What is it?” Jongin asked, standing up as well.

 “My chance to get revenge for my family, and Hyunsik,” Kyungsoo said, pressing the sheet against Jongin’s chest, who just barely caught it before it dropped to the floor.

 As Jongin quickly scanned the text, Kyungsoo ran towards where Jongin had told him there would be a stash of weapons.

 “We’re going?” Jongin asked from the living room, voice loud enough for Kyungsoo to hear.

 Kyungsoo just snorted, finding the answer to the question obvious. The loud sigh just behind him made him stiffen, shoulders pulled up to his ears.

 “You’re too rash. What are you going to use grenades for?” Jongin asked, leaning over Kyungsoo to pick up two handguns.

 Kyungsoo looked down at the grenades in his hands, shrugging. “You never know when you need a big bang.”

 

 “I’m a bit underwhelmed, actually,” Jongin muttered as they watched the sizzling remains of the stone wall crumble down. “Can grenades get too old? Did you use it right?”

 “Do I look like a demolitions expert, Jongin?” Kyungsoo hissed right back, poking his head out to check if the coast was clear. Apparently, explosion going off in the backyard was not a problem big enough to warrant an investigation. Kyungsoo was mildly relieved, seeing as throwing a grenade at a stone wall might have been a rather rash move…

 Jongin glanced up and down Kyungsoo’s body, before shrugging and going back to keeping an eye out.

 “I mean, I wouldn’t put it past you… You look small and crazy enough?”

 Kyungsoo punched the insufferable vampire in the shoulder, before quickly getting to his feet and rushing towards the tiny hole he had made. Pressing his back against the wall, he checked the area on the other side, but it was just as quiet as it had been when they had arrived. With a blur, Jongin was suddenly pressed in the same position as Kyungsoo, on the other side of the hole, and also peeking inside.

 “Either they don’t have any security out here, the security measures will blow us to pieces as we step a foot outside, or we’re walking into a trap,” Jongin whispered to Kyungsoo, a frown on his face. “Which do you think it is?”

 “Least probability is the first option,” Kyungsoo whispered back. “You’ll survive getting some parts blown off, so how about going first?”

 Jongin rolled his eyes but did as asked, somehow managing to squeeze his body through the hole. Kyungsoo had expected at least a big gap, but apparently the wall was a lot sturdier than it looked.

 “Clear! I don’t see anyone around, actually,” came Jongin’s voice from the other side, and Kyungsoo joined him, scraping his shoulder a little as he went through, not missing Jongin’s eyes on the very spot that stung the most.

 “Let’s go then,” Kyungsoo said, pulling his gun out moving forwards, just to be yanked back by a hand wrapping around his free arm.

 “You’re right, I’ll survive more than you, let me go first,” Jongin said, a strange look in his eyes, moving forwards before Kyungsoo even found his mouth to answer. Pursing his lips, Kyungsoo said nothing, and followed.

 A few trees were scattered between the stone wall and the large building they were heading for, and they used them for protection as they crept forwards. Not that it was much protection offered, but at least it was something.

 The last twenty meters or so were open lawn, and they regrouped before rushing across it, making it to the wall of the building still without having seen any signs of life. It was almost eerily quiet, and Kyungsoo felt apprehension clinging to his spine, making him want to turn and go back, but he forced the instinct down. Within the wall his back was currently pressed again, the answer to all of his questions might lie, and he could not go back now.

 “Wait,” Jongin suddenly said, holding a hand out in front of Kyungsoo as he tilted his head. “Did you hear that?”

 Just as Kyungsoo was about to say something sarcastic about superior vampire hearing, he realized that he  _ could _ hear something.

 “What  _ is _ that, dogs?” Kyungsoo asked, straining to try to hear or see something more.

 Then Jongin turned to Kyungsoo, eyes wide with fear, reaching out and taking hold of Kyungsoo’s arm and forcing him to start running.

 The strange sounds were getting closer and closer, and Kyungsoo chanced a look backwards - immediately regretting the decision to do so. Because what he saw chasing after them was humanoid beings, with glowing eyes and extended fangs, black smoke rising from their too pale skin.

 Vampires. But not normal, healthy ones.

 The soon reach a door leading inside, and Jongin quickly shoves Kyungsoo towards it, putting himself between the abominations and the human. Kyungsoo tries to work as quickly as possible, fingers fumbling as he tries to get the door open, but the vampires are too close, the first one leaping already as Jongin manages to hit it right between the eyes.

 It leaves him open for the next one, though, and it latches on to him, nails digging into Jongin’s arm as Jongin tries to fight it off.

 “Fuck!” Kyungsoo hissed, shooting the strange vampire, before shielding his eyes and shooting at the lock of the door. There’s a metallic noise, a groan, and then Kyungsoo is looking up and pulling the door open.

 Almost falling into the opening, Kyungsoo pressed himself against the wall as Jongin quickly rushed inside, pulling the door closed and holding it as it keeps rattling. It seems like the strange vampires were driven into some kind of craze, trying to pound the door down, instead of pulling it open.

 “Ah, shit… You shot me!” Jongin muttered as Kyungsoo was looking around, trying to make the area they are in out in the semi darkness. “I know you would one day, honestly…”

 “Wait, are you serious?” Kyungsoo asked, worry making him look away from their surroundings to rake his eyes up and down Jongin’s body. In the limited light, Kyungsoo could not make out any blood.

 “Yeah, your bullet ricocheted…,” Jongin said wincing a little as he pressed his back against the still-banging door. “It grazed me, but still.”

 “I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo said, actually meaning it. “Do you need blood? To help you heal faster?”

 And it was not until Jongin glanced over at him with a strange look in his eyes, that Kyungsoo realized what he just offered.

 “I mean, it was my fault…?” Kyungsoo weakly said, shrugging a little.

 It was with a big grin that Jongin answered him. “Thank you for the very kind offer, but I’m fine. It’s already knitting together, you don’t have to worry about it.”

 Kyungsoo nodded, embarrassment heating his cheeks up just slightly, as he looked around again.

 All he could really tell was that they were in a staircase. It went on and on up above them, but only got darker the further up it went, not lighter, so Kyungsoo guessed there was no light that way either. But from the staircase leading down there was a hint of light, just enough for Kyungsoo to barely make it out.

 Suddenly, the banging on the door stopped, and Kyungsoo and Jongin looked at it, then each other, in surprise. Pressing his ear against the door, Jongin frowned, then looked over at Kyungsoo again.

 “Sounds like they’re… Running away?” he mumbled in confusion.

 “Let’s get moving, then, use it as our chance to get further inside,” Kyungsoo said, nodding towards the staircase. “I’ll suggest going down, it’s always in the basement…”

 Jongin went first, being the one with the superior low-light vision. They stayed close enough that Kyungsoo could still make Jongin out, and not be left back in the dark.

 The further down they went, the lighter it slowly became, until Kyungsoo could clearly make out Jongin. The staircase seemed to go on for ever, and Kyungsoo was sure they were going to run into a dinosaur skeleton soon, when finally they arrived at a large reinforced door, a scanner next to it.

 “You don’t have a tech-savvy friend you can call up to help us get inside?” Jongin asked in a hushed voice, nodding in the direction of the door.

 “Uh, no, I got us here, now it’s your time to get us inside,” Kyungsoo shot back.

 “I’m a vampire, not Superman,” Jongin protested. “I can’t break through a steel door!”

 Pursing his lips and pushing the thought of Jongin in a Superman costume out of his head, Kyungsoo carefully stepped towards the door, looking around to make sure he did not activate any traps or anything. When he reached the door, he slowly took a hold of the handle and pushed it down, wincing as it made a little sound - and then he pulled the door open. Just like that.

 “Okay, I’m calling it, it’s a fucking trap,” Jongin hissed after they had both stood and stared at the opened door in surprise for a few seconds.

 “It very well might be, but what other choice do we have, Jongin?” Kyungsoo asked, straightening up and holding the door open just a sliver. “We’re already here, and Chanyeol and Byun are probably already at the safe house, with Hyu- with the file, knowing about everything. Even if we’re walking straight into a trap, we might be able to do enough damage to this place, making it even easier for the others to expose this whole operation.”

 Jongin let out a deep sigh, before stalking towards the door and raising his gun once more.

 “Suicide mission, I’m telling you… On three, pull the door open.”

 Giving the vampire a thankful smile, Kyungsoo mouthed one, two, three, and then pulled the door open as instructed. Jongin quickly went inside, and Kyungsoo followed as quickly as he could.

 “Here, catch!” Jongin softly called out, and Kyungsoo looked up just in time to catch the strange, metallic thing Jongin threw over to him. “Use it to prop the door open, so we can get out again.”

 Nodding at the good thinking, Kyungsoo propped the door open and made sure it would stay that way, before following Jongin further into the room.

 It was quite obvious that it was a lab of some sort, strange equipement laying and hanging around. Some were things Kyungsoo could find in Chanyeol’s lab, some were things he could find at the hospital, and some things were just something he had never seen before, looking more like it had come from a horror game or something.

 Having looked at a weird, pear-looking metallic device, Kyungsoo jumped a little as Jongin suddenly let out a loud curse, spinning around to come face to face with what looked like a room containing a tank - a standing tank large enough to contain a humanoid being, floating in some kind of liquid. Several drip tubes went into the being, and an oxygen mask was covering the lower half of its face, only two pieces of fabric wrapped over its chest and around its hips. There was barely any flesh or fat to its body, but just enough for Kyungsoo to make out that it was a woman.

 “I… I think it’s a vampire,” Jongin mumbled, slowly stepping closer, Kyungsoo following after. “A very dehydrated vampire… The veins around its eyes are barely noticeable…”

 Suddenly, the being’s eyes flew open, making Kyungsoo take half a step back and gasp in surprise. For the barest second, it locked gazes with him, a shiver running through Kyungsoo’s body, before it turned its black eyes to Jongin.

 The vampire had still not stopped, his outstretched fingers now touching the glass of the tank. A moment later, the being in the tank slowly began to raise its hand as well, until its nails were lying flat to the inside of the glass, right where Jongin’s fingers were.

 “Yes, she’s a vampire, what have they done to you…,” Jongin said, and Kyungsoo did not know if it was just him talking, or him actually asking the being.

 “Nothing much, really. It’s rather what she’s done for us,” a voice suddenly said behind them, and Kyungsoo spun, gun raised. “Oh, put that toy away, boy, there’s no need for that.”

 In the doorway stood a tall, well-built man, dressed in an army uniform, a neutral look on his face. His insignia denoted him as general, and Kyungsoo knew who this was. This was the very man they had come here for.

 “General So Jisub,” Kyungsoo said, not lowering his gun. “You were one of the overseers during the experiments performed by the government, and suspected by the same government to be behind these new, unconfirmed experiments.”

 “Guilty as charged,” the general said with a small, sarcastic smile. “Inspector Do Kyungsoo and Inspector Kim Jongin, a boy who lost his family in the Suburban Slaughter and a high-ranking vampire infiltrating a useless agency… What a pair. Now, with the introductions over with, put the guns away, and step away from the tank. We don’t want to risk ‘Mother’ now, do we?”

 “‘Mother’?” Jongin echoed, but neither he nor Kyungsoo moved.

 General So let out an annoyed sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Such bad manners, having a conversation at gunpoint really isn’t polite. Yes, ‘Mother’, that’s the creature’s name. She is the only living sample of the venom creating the blood-crazed vampires. Unfortunately, we haven’t had much luck in recreating it to  _ her _ extent… She’s still alive, and somewhat sentient, whilst the others… Well, that you’ve seen for yourself.”

 “What are you even trying to achieve with this?” Kyungsoo asked, gun still steadily trained on the general.

 “What do you think, boy?” General So spat out, lips pulled back over his teeth. “At first it was to create the  _ perfect _ super soldier - all the humanity, but with the increased strength and senses, and none of the blasphemous blood-drinking… But after the experiments got shut down, and we started this project up, we realized we wanted to take it further. Maybe to control the vampires, maybe exterminate the plague completely, we’re letting it take us wherever it leads. As long as it helps humanity, whatever is fine.”

 At that, Kyungsoo faltered, his gun starting to fall.

 “And you’re risking human lives for that? Risking the humanity you want to protect?”

 “Sometimes you have to make sacrifices, and the end justifies the means,” the general said, shrugging and crossing his arms over his chest.

 “That’s a real shitty approach, asshole,” Jongin said, agitation clear in his voice. “The more I see from some humans, the more I believe that us vampires are actually the more humane ones…”

 Even though Kyungsoo kind of knew the words were not meant for him, he still felt a small, painful tug at his heart, but did his best to ignore it.

 “No matter what, it’s over for you, general,” Kyungsoo said, raising his gun again. “We’re here to put an end to it, and even if you manage to take us down, there’s more evidence against you currently in the hand of others. I’m pretty sure the Court wants to bring it all to light as soon as possible…”

 General So’s jaw clenched, and he let out a sigh through his nose, glancing to the side before focusing on Kyungsoo again.

 “You won’t have enough… I’m protected by the government anyway, you really think humanity will believe what a bunch of vampires have to say?”

 “Yes, I do,” Kyungsoo calmly answered. “The evidence is quite incriminating, and probably none of your little friends in the government will retain their positions for long enough to save your ass. They’ll probably focus on their own sorry asses instead anyway.”

 The general’s face turned dark, and quicker than Kyungsoo had the time to react, he pulled out a gun. Instinctively, Kyungsoo dropped to the ground, and the bullet whizzed past his cheek, almost clipping the side of his cheekbone. Ears still ringing from the close shot, Kyungsoo almost missed the sound of metal penetrating glass, and cracking.

 Another shot was heard from behind Kyungsoo before he was even able to get his own gun up to take the aim, but the bullet missed, and as Kyungsoo was finally shooting, General So was already turning on his heel and running away.

 Cursing, Kyungsoo got up from the floor and rushed after the general, just to stop as the unmistakable sounds of glass finally breaking and liquid pouring out was heard. Just as Kyungsoo turned back around, he saw a small flood coming towards him, reaching to a little above his ankles as it went past him. And then he looked up, and saw the being - ‘ _ Mother _ ’ - flinging herself onto Jongin’s back. Everything slowed down to ultrarapid, and as the milliseconds went past, Kyungsoo saw the being’s extended fangs inch closer and closer to Jongin’s neck, before finally sinking inside, time speeding right back up again.

 Not even thinking about it, Kyungsoo whipped his gun up and shot the creature. Its head snapped backwards violently, fangs ripped from Jongin’s throat and dark, dark blood sipping from the wounds.

 Three gasping breaths fell from Kyungsoo’s lips before Jongin fell to his knees, clutching his neck and letting out choked screams. Dumped straight back into reality, like falling into a cold lake and getting a rough awakening, Kyungsoo dropped his gun on the floor and rushed over to Jongin, outstretched hands trembling as he realized what had happened.

 “Jongin, fuck, the  _ venom _ !” Kyungsoo exclaimed as his hands fluttered over Jongin’s neck and hand, not knowing what to do, but unable to not do anything as well.

 “Yeah, I know, I can feel it,” Jongin gritted out between clenched teeth, his free hand shooting out to push Kyungsoo away. “Go, go find him, put an end to him, don’t let him get away!”

 Ignoring his duty as a SCT investigator, Kyungsoo scrambled right back to Jongin, blabbering barely intelligible protests as tears began to gather in his eyes. The venom, it would take Jongin over, throw him into a blood-craze, make him lose control over himself and just  _ kill _ , until finally it would snuff his own life out as well as it burned through him. And Kyungsoo could not let that happen, not to  _ Jongin _ !

 “RUN!” Jongin suddenly roared, looking up at Kyungsoo with pitch-black eyes like holes in his face, dark veins extending from them as he succumbed to the venom, and Kyungsoo bit back a sob as he knew Jongin was close to unsavable.

 But he was still holding himself back, free hand digging into the linoleum floor beneath them, tearing into it, just to give Kyungsoo the time to go far enough to be safe.

 And Kyungsoo could not dishonor that sacrifice.

 With a frustrated yell, Kyungsoo got up and rushed out of the room, down the way he had seen General So sprint. He was probably far away by now, and Kyungsoo had no chance of catching up, but he had to at least  _ try _ . For his family. For Hyunsik. For Jongin. For all of the innocent involved over the past twenty, if not more, years.

 Bursting through a pair of double doors, Kyungsoo drew to a stop as he noticed a shadow bent over a keyboard, typing something in. Not thinking twice about it, Kyungsoo flung himself on top of the figure, knocking General So to the floor. They wrestled for a while, the general still holding his gun, but Kyungsoo managed to keep it away from himself.

 Unfortunately, even with all of his training, Kyungsoo was shorter and less muscular than General So, and was in the end overpowered and forced away. And as Kyungsoo got up to launch his second attack, there was a loud gunshot, coldness spreading through veins from his stomach.

 Coming to a stop, Kyungsoo looked down in surprise. It was not the first time he had gotten shot - he had gotten shot, stabbed, tazed, all sorts of things, it was a work hazard for him - but he had never gotten shot in the stomach before. Not gotten shot in a way that would kill him if he did not get medical attention soon.

 Slowly, Kyungsoo pressed his hand against the wound, holding it up and seeing the red shimmer in the low light. It was beautiful; a rich, deep color, almost black, but there was also something so incredibly terrifying about it.

 “You know, Do, you would have made a great general one day, if only you had let go of your nostalgic feelings and morals,” General So huffed out, clearly winded from their little fight. “You had potential, but unfortunately you’re stuck in this righteous little revenge. You chose only to see the bad parts about the death of your family, but without it, you wouldn’t have been you, right?”

 Ice cold rage seeped into Kyungsoo’s very bones, matching the coldness radiating from his gunshot wound, bringing everything into perfect clarity. The man was right, after all. Without the death of his family, Kyungsoo would not be the person he is today. He would not be the broken, miserable shell of a man who refused to let people close, who was scared of intimacy, who feared and hated innocent beings.

 Looking up again, Kyungsoo stared into General So’s eyes, seeing something in there that he recognized. It was fear. Pure and simple plain fear.

 Slowly, putting one foot in front of the other, Kyungsoo made his way over to the general.

 “Go to hell,” Kyungsoo said, and then he wrung the gun out of the general’s hand, pressed the nuzzle over his heart, and pulled the trigger.

 The bang was still ringing in Kyungsoo’s ears as the other man fell to the floor, gasping and panting as blood pooled around him. Disgusted, Kyungsoo turned away, starting his walk over to where Jongin had been, throwing the gun to a distant corner. After all, he was already doomed, no one would be here soon enough for Kyungsoo to be saved, and if he would receive a quicker death by Jongin’s bite, then so be it.

 Kyungsoo only made it halfway until his body gave out, his knees hitting the floor hard, but he did not feel it. He was strangely numb, almost feeling as if he was floating. Then his cheek was suddenly pressed against the floor, vision swimming, and Kyungsoo closed his eyes.

 Darkness surrounded him, kept him suspended, and it felt as if he was deep underwater. Even all of the sudden noise seemed so far away, as if filtered through meters after meters of water. Someone seemed to be calling his name, but Kyungsoo could not find the strength to respond, instead sinking deeper and deeper and deeper…

 

~*~

 

_ A few weeks later… _

 

 Baekhyun was standing on the raised platform, listening to Leader Kim drone on and on about stuff. Or, well, he was supposed to listen, but Junmyeon really knew how to make something unbearable boring, and Baekhyun was saving himself the trip to crazy town by tuning the lead vampire’s voice out.

 Leader Kim was explaining to the gathered media and citizens the situation that had been uncovered just a few weeks before, he was explaining the great conspiracy by the human government, covering up kidnappings of and experimentations on vampires. Having literally been on the case halfway through, and then promoted to lead investigator of it towards the end, Baekhyun did not need to hear the explanation - he already knew it. But unfortunately, this event was not something he could skip, seeing as he  _ was _ the lead investigator.

 Together with a certain shy doctor who Baekhyun was going to have dinner with later that night, which Baekhyun was greatly looking forwards to. Said shy doctor who was standing next to him in this very moment, fidgeting under the heavy stares, not used to being front and center on these kinds of things. The poor forensic boy mostly only took credit for parts of the investigation, not fully like this time around.

 But, Doctor Park Chanyeol had been invaluable to the case, and Baekhyun had made sure that he would get the praise due for him.

 “Great sacrifices have been made throughout the entirety of this undercover investigation, and the two most recent ones are also the very reason for why we’re standing here today,” Leader Kim drawled, speech practiced to perfection. “Inspector Kim and Inspector Do managed to set aside their differences as vampire and human and work together to bring this entire conspiracy down. They gathered evidence and leads that helped crack the Market Massacre  _ and _ the Suburban Slaughter open, and exposed the dirtiness of the Human Government. Without them, we might not be standing here today, and unfortunately, we’re standing here today without them.”

 Catching a movement out of the corner of his eye, Baekhyun glanced to the side. There, a little bit off, hidden beneath two caps, were two familiar faces. Even if Baekhyun could only see the noses and lips, there was no doubt about who they were. But he had not expected them to be there today, he had thought they would be halfway around the globe by now.

 As Baekhyun watched the two men, the taller of them gave a small wave, whilst the shorter simply inclined his head. Grinning, Baekhyun gave a small bow, and then turned back to face the front again, not wanting to give them away.

 After all, Do Kyungsoo and Kim Jongin deserved the death of their previous lives. They had done enough for both humanity and vampires alike, and even though they would never be allowed to be forgotten, they deserved to live the rest of their new lives in serene anonymity.

**Author's Note:**

> If you actually got this far - thank you so much! And I apologize for this mess, and I hope that the fic's potential was able to shine through enough to keep you interested!


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